The Friend of the Sea program is pleased to announce the nomination of five new members to its Technical Committee
The Technical Committee is independent from Friend of the Sea and its role is to develop and revise the Friend of the Sea Standards for sustainable seafood, fisheries, aquaculture, Omega3, fishmeal and fish oil. Its members analyse, propose and vote changes to the standards, according to their expertise. The committee is composed of highly qualified experts representing seven different fields: certification bodies, distribution/retail, educational, government, seafood industry, media and NGOs.
“Friend of the Sea is proud to be the only sustainable seafood certification standard completely independent from the seafood industry. This prevents potential conflict of interest,” explains Paolo Bray, Founder and Director of Friend of the Sea. “At the same time, in line with FAO guidelines, Friend of the Sea Technical Committee allows stakeholders equal participation to propose and vote changes to the certification standards. This, together with an open and accessible objections procedure, ensures fairness and participation to standard setting, also by players in the seafood industry.”
The five new committee members, which will hold their post until 2025, represent four different stakeholders sectors.
Luca Catalano has been working since 2007 with Coop Italia, a major Italian Retailer, as Quality Inspector and Product Specialist. He has a background in marketing and logistics in the agri-food sector, as well as knowledge of Food Science and Technology.
Joel Baziuk, from Canada, is Associate Director of Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI), which brings together NGOs, governments, the fishing industry, and other stakeholders to define and inform policy and encourage sustainable solutions to the problem of lost and abandoned fishing gear worldwide. He has also served on the boards of numerous technical and advisory committees in the fields of sustainable fishing and ocean pollution, and is a frequent speaker on these topics as well.
Yusuf Abdilahi Gulled has a background in International Cooperation and Aid, with a Master’s Degree from the Kalu Institute in Spain. He is the Horn of Africa Regional Program Manager for Fair Fishing as well as Somalia’s Country Director. Fair Fishing works to increase economic opportunities in the Horn of Africa through sustainable fishing, so Mr Gulled is well placed to bring a unique perspective on both fair labor in the fishing sector, as well as NGO stakeholder perspectives in Africa.
Walter Anzer, from the UK, has several decades of experience working in managerial positions in leading food companies. For the past three decades he has been an advisor to the Earth Island Institute, concerning Marine Mammals and the European Dolphin Safe Monitoring Organization.
Rudi Bressa, journalist, writes about sustainability, energy and the circular economy for several well-known Italian and international media. Rudi is also a naturalist and advocates measures to prevent human caused climate change.
“Past Technical Committee Members have greatly contributed to the improvement of the Friend of the Sea Sustainability Standards, with their specific skills and knowledge” comments Andrea Pica, Technical and Scientific Director of Friend of the Sea “New members will certainly provide additional value to the standard setting process and this will further strengthen Friend of the Sea standards, which have always been top performers according to most benchmarks”.
For more information about our technical committee, click here
