Governance

Stichting Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) is incorporated as a foundation under the laws of the Netherlands. Governed by a Steering Board representing the full seafood value chain, companies, NGOs, governments and international organisations – including the FAO –, GSSI promotes sector-wide collaboration to drive forward more sustainable seafood for everyone.

GSSI charter 2022

gssi deed of incorporation

Steering Board members

Trent Hartill (Co-Chair)

Vice President of Fisheries and Sustainability, American Seafoods

Vice President of Fisheries and Sustainability, American Seafoods

Trent is Vice President of Fisheries and Sustainability for American Seafoods. In this role he focuses on regulatory and legislative actions that affect the company, and the Alaska pollock or Pacific whiting fishery in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. He also coordinates the fishery, social and labor certifications for company as well as sustainability initiatives for the North American catcher processor sector. Prior to working at American Seafoods, Trent was worked as a fisheries biologist for Alaska Department of Fish & Game, managing commercial salmon, crab and groundfish fisheries. In addition, he was as alternate on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, coordinating the State’s policy positions on federal fisheries.

Dr. Ingrid Kelling (Co-Chair)

Assistant Professor of Sustainable and Ethical Seafood, Heriot-Watt University

Assistant Professor of Sustainable and Ethical Seafood, Heriot-Watt University

Dr Ingrid Kelling holds a PhD in sustainable and ethical aquaculture trade and currently leads a research team at Heriot Watt University focusing on improving social sustainability in seafood supply. A policy-oriented scientist, she works with multiple partners along seafood value chains to co-create solutions that promote long-term positive change and investment in seafood production and consumption. Alongside building her academic career, Ingrid has gained extensive professional experience with international NGOs, private companies and public governance organisations. Ingrid holds several execuitive leadership positions including Forum Convener for the Sustainable Aquaculture Forum of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland (MASTS), Member of the Supply Chain & Consumer Sector Panel of the Seafish Industry Authority, and Member of the ICES Strategic Initiative on the Human Dimension.

Friðrik Friðriksson

General Counsel, Brim

General Counsel, Brim

Friðrik is a lawyer, living in Kopavogur, Iceland. He works as Brim’s General Counsel, giving him a broad advisory role within the company. He has worked within fishing management, HR, collective bargaining, labour issues, certification and corporate matters for almost 20 years – most of that time within the fishing industry. Prior to working for Brim, Fridrik worked for Fisheries Iceland for ten years on variety of projects, participating in public committees and other public responsibilities on issues related to fisheries management and business environment of fishing companies.

Han Han

Executive Director, China Blue Sustainability

President, China Blue Sustainability Institute

Han is the Founder and Executive Director of China Blue Sustainability, an organization that promotes sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. Han co-founded the China Ocean NGO Forum and believes that sustainability needs to be defined with respect to local culture, economics, and society. Her work has been recognized by a number of awards, including being selected for the Obama Foundation Asia-Pacific Leaders programe in 2019, and in 2020 being named to the ‘Gen.T List’ - the definitive list of young leaders shaping Asia’s future - for her work promoting sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in China. Han holds degrees in Environmental Sciences from Rutgers University and Nanjing University.

Sévrine Bethy

Food Safety and Responsible Sourcing Manager, Sodexo

Food Safety and Responsible Sourcing Manager, Sodexo

Sévrine joined Sodexo Group in 2007 as a Quality Manager to monitor the portfolio of suppliers in France and rapidly started to work closely with the Group Corporate Responsibility Department on sustainability initiatives to improve supply chains social and environmental impacts. Since then, she has contributed to driving and implementing the Sodexo Responsible Sourcing roadmap by ensuring the sourcing of healthy solutions and ingredients, fostering social equity and protecting and restoring the natural ecosystems. She is from the Caribbean and has an engineering degree in food safety and quality applicable to food industry.

Nianjun Shen

Senior Fishery Officer in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, FAO

Senior Fishery Officer in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, FAO

Nianjun is the Senior Fishery Officer from the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. He covers fish value chain and major seafood market access issues including traceability, certification and catch documentation schemes. He has 14 years direct working experience with multilateral organizations including 6 years with FAO. Before that, he worked with Chinese Ministry of Commerce for 10 years on bilateral and multilateral trade agreements, market access for LDCs and development program management.

Kelley K. Bell

Social Responsibility Division Director, FishWise

Social Responsibility Division Director, FishWise

Kelley leads social responsibility for FishWise, advising companies and collaborating across the sector to build resilient supply chains that uphold international labor standards. In addition to the GSSI Steering Board, she sits on the Consortium for Social Risks in Seafood, the Seafood Working Group, the FAO Technical Working Group, the MBA Social Sustainability Advisory Group, and advises the Food Marketing Institute's Sustainable Seafood Committee. Prior to FishWise, Kelley served 14 years as Global V.P. of Social and Environmental Impact at Driscoll’s. In her free time, she serves on the board of the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County.

Nuno Cosme

Chief Sustainability and CSR Officer, Nueva Pescanova Group

Chief Sustainability and CSR Officer, Nueva Pescanova Group

Nuno Cosme leads the company’s sustainability agenda, driving the transformation of business models and operational strategies to ensure transparency and accountability in ESG reporting. His efforts position Nueva Pescanova as a leader in responsible and sustainable seafood production. Originally trained as a Marine Biologist (PT), Nuno holds a PhD in Sustainability Engineering (DK) and an MSc in Environmental Engineering (DK). He specialises in sustainability assessment of products and processes, with expertise in life cycle assessment, environmental performance metrics, and strategies to reduce environmental footprints while fostering growth and long-term business resilience.

Matt Thompson

Aquaculture Programs Manager, BalanceBlue Lab, Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, New England Aquarium

Aquaculture Programs Manager, BalanceBlue Lab, Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, New England Aquarium

Matt has extensive experience collaborating with industry, NGOs, and other stakeholders to promote environmentally responsible aquaculture practices throughout the global seafood and marine hydrocolloids industry. Through his work at the BalanceBlue Lab at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life, he has helped set certification standards for environmentally responsible aquaculture, helped the Aquarium’s corporate partners develop environmentally responsible supply chains, and mentored startups with innovative solutions to aquaculture’s biggest challenges through the BlueSwell bluetech incubator program. Matt has a degree in Marine Science from Southampton University (UK) and a Master’s degree in Aquaculture from Stirling University (UK).

Francisco Aldon

CEO, MarinTrust

CEO, MarinTrust

Francisco Aldon has been with MarinTrust, from its early development within IFFO (the marine ingredients organisation), to becoming the CEO of MarinTrust in 2020. With over 15 years of experience in the food sector, specialising in marine ingredients, Francisco has unique expertise in responsible sourcing, sustainable production practices, and digital traceability in the marine ingredient supply chain