Aquaculture
Governance
Indicators
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The People behind AGI
The core AGI team consist of academics/researchers from the Environmental Policy Group (ENP) at Wageningen University (Netherlands). They are supported by, and collaborate with, key individuals from the Seafood Watch (SFW) program. In addition, the project is informed and guided by feedback from a diverse group of experts in aquaculture across academia, civil society, and industry who make up the technical advisory committee.
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Furqan Asif
AGI Research fellow
Assistant professor
Aalborg University
Dr. Asif is an environmental social scientist with research experience in coastal, small-scale fisheries (Cambodia), marine protected areas (Philippines), migration, social wellbeing, and social resilience.
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Before moving to Aalborg University (Denmark), Furqan worked as a post-doctoral researcher in the AGI project, conducting several AGI assessments. Furqan's expertise covers areas ranging from research and environment-policy analysis to knowledge brokering/transfer/translation and project coordination, across a variety of institutions, including the Canadian International Development Agency (now Global Affairs Canada), WorldFish Center, United Nations University, and the International Development Research Centre.
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Furqan holds a PhD in International Development (University of Ottawa), a Master of Environmental Science (University of Toronto) and a Honors Bachelor of Science in Biology/Environmental Science (Western University).
Hilde Toonen
AGI Project Coordinator Assistant professor
Wageningen University
Dr. Toonen is an Assistant Professor in Marine Governance at the Environmental Policy group. Hilde's research is about informational governance in the marine world, focusing on innovative arrangements dealing with marine environmental challenges, focusing on aquauculture and governance.
Next to the AGI programme, Hilde is participating in several national and international research projects: the CIRCAQUA project on innovation for circular low trophic aquaculture production; the OR ELSE project on the impact of sand extraction on fisheries; the PERMAGOV project on the performance of marine governance arrangements for achieving EU Green Deal objectives; and the BLUE4ALL project on improving MPA effectiveness in the EU. As a post-doctoral researcher, she worked on the project "Assessing capacities and performances" in the NWO-funded Smart governance programme highlighting the ways in which certification organizations steer towards sustainability in global value chains. Hilde is an associate editor of Maritime Studies.
Hilde holds a PhD in environmental sociology (Wageningen University), and has a background in Anthropology (MSc, University of Amsterdam) and Environmental Sciences (BSc, Utrecht University).
Simon Bush
AGI Research fellow
Professor
Wageningen University
Dr. Bush is Professor and Chair of the Environmental Policy Group at Wageningen University. His broad research agenda focuses on the design of governance arrangements for global sustainable seafood. Notable projects include EURASTIP programme, which focused on innovation platforms for aquaculture in Asia and beyond-farm management of aquaculture in Southeast Asia (SUPERSEAS). Simon is leading the CIRCAQUA project on regional innovation for circular low trophic aquaculture production in the Dutch North Sea.
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He is the lead author on the Blue Food Assessment (led by Stanford University and the University of Stockholm), and sits on the editorial board of Aquaculture, Reviews in Aquaculture, Maritime Studies and Environmental Development.
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As a practitioner, Simon is a member of the multi-stakeholder group and aquaculture governance performance framework working group of Monterrey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch programme, an advisory board member at Good Fish Foundation and the aquaculture programme of the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH).
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AGI Core Team
Erin Hudson
Director of Monitoring and Evaluating
Seafood Watch
Erin Hudson has been with the Monterey Bay Aquarium since 2009 and is the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation for the Seafood Watch Program. Erin’s focus is on developing a Monitoring and Evaluation plan for Seafood Watch to quantify the program’s contribution toward improving the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture operations, assess the effectiveness of program strategies, and identify areas for improvement. Other major projects include data visualization to share program information with a wide variety of audiences and data harmonization with other seafood rating and certification organizations.
Before joining the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Erin worked for the public policy division of the Marine Conservation Biology Institute in Washington D.C.. Erin has a M.S. in Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of San Diego.
Wendy Norden
Science Director
Seafood Watch
As Science Director, Wendy is responsible for the overall management, strategic direction and application of the Seafood Watch Science Program. This includes applying Seafood Watch standards across the globe and creating a better understanding of sustainability to a wide-ranging audience.
Wendy has over 20 years of experience in marine conservation. This includes work in academia as Marine Conservation Science Research Professor at the University of Maine, studying the impacts of eco-certification on fisheries management and economic incentives for conservation, to several years in government, managing the New Zealand Department of Conservation's fisheries observer program, to field research as a conservation biologist in Australia and throughout New England.
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Wendy has extensive experience delivering conservation and sustainability partnerships in the Asia region. In 2018, she co-developed the Partnership Assurance Model (PAM) with several organizations, a new landscape approach to sustainable aquaculture production, and supports the implementation of PAM projects in Chile, Indonesia, India and Vietnam.
TECHNICAL ADVISORY BOARD
CORMAC O'SULLIVAN
Global Manager -
Seafood and Aquaculture, SGS Ireland Ltd.
Senior Fellow - Global Aquaculture Science, Seafood Watch
Having initially farmed salmon, trout and char in Ireland for 15 years, since then, Cormac has been involved in environmental consultancy and certification around aquaculture, fisheries and seafood for government, ENGO’s, retailers and private industry. Most recently before joining Seafood Watch, he was the Global Manager for Aquaculture and Seafood Certification at SGS. His work includes regular peer review of published scientific reports on aquaculture and also as an advisor on numerous technical committees for various international standards bodies. Cormac holds a Degree in Applied Ecology and a Master’s Degree in Environmental Protection and is a qualified Lead Auditor in all of the major seafood standards as well as trainer to many Standards.
FLAVIO CORSIN, PHD
Director of Partnerships, Aqua-Spark
Flavio has over two decades of global experience working in responsible aquaculture for several non-profit, intergovernmental, and for-profit organizations. Most recently, Flavio worked for IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, overseeing their Aquaculture Program. In his current role at Aqua-Spark, he is responsible for driving the development and execution of an aquaculture partners network, building consensus and aligning stakeholders towards the organization's vision and mission. He has also supported the establishment of several industry platforms in sectors such as coffee, tea, spices and apparel. Flavio holds a M.Sc. in Aquaculture and a Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the University of Liverpool.
MICHELE STARK
Executive Director - Seafood Advisory Ltd.
Michèle is the founder of Seafood Advisory Ltd., a consulting company which provides expert advice on topics related to seafood sourcing and production. She has a background in marine biology, coastal science and management, and many years of international, hands-on experience as an auditor, certifier, and manager at the certification body IMOswiss AG, where she founded the Department for Aquaculture & Fisheries and trained and led a global team of auditors.
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At Seafood Advisory Ltd., Michèle guides seafood buyers and producers through processes such as developing and implementing sustainable production, traceability, quality assurance or risk management systems. She also advises retail, standard setters, NGOs, government organizations and research institutions and is a member of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Technical Advisory Board and the Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA) Seafood Watch Technical Advisory Committee for aquaculture.
JOSH MADEIRA
Senior Manager of Ocean Conservation Policy, Seafood Watch
Josh oversees a portfolio of policy issues that focuses on sustainability and conservation of global fisheries and aquaculture. He works closely with the Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program to advance seafood sustainability policies and improvement strategies with governments, the seafood industry and key stakeholders. Prior to this, Josh worked as a senior government relations officer at the Pew Charitable Trusts and oversaw strategic planning and government outreach for Pew’s domestic oceans campaigns. In addition, he was a fellow on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources. Josh holds a B.A. in government and environmental studies from Bowdoin College and a Masters in environmental science and management from U.S. Santa Barbara.
JENNIFER DIANTO KEMMERLY
Vice President - Global Ocean Initiatives, Seafood Watch
Jennifer steers Monterey Bay Aquarium’s activities towards the goal of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture through the Seafood Watch program. By working with a variety of stakeholders around the world, she helps to drive improvements in environmental performance, social responsibility and management of the world's fisheries and aquaculture. At the same time, Jennifer ensures this information is used to engage and empower North American consumers and steer businesses through their purchase decisions to support responsible fisheries and aquaculture.
KEVIN FITZSIMMONS, PHD
Professor, Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, University of Arizona
Kevin is a past President of the World Aquaculture Society and a Professor and Extension Specialist at the University of Arizona. His research and extension work since 1981 has focused on improving the sustainability of the aquaculture industry in the US and abroad, including leading the development of the tilapia farming industry around the world. Recently he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to further the commercialization of alternative ingredients for aquaculture feed in partnership with three Southeast Asian universities. Dr. Fitzsimmon is currently leading a four-year EU-funded initiative, the Myanmar Sustainable Aquaculture Project (MYSAP). Kevin serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program and its associated Southeast Asia Fisheries and Aquaculture Initiative. He has co-authored 11 books, ten chapters, over 60 peer-reviewed articles, and more than 100 articles in industry publications.
DAVID C. LITTLE, PHD
Chair, Aquatic Resources Development, Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling (UK)
David has more than 40 years professional experience in the aquaculture sector. As part of the Aquaculture Systems research group at the Institute of Aquaculture, his research and education interests center around the societal impacts of aquaculture and, increasingly, highlighting the importance of seafood in food systems.David has published widely on the interface between aquatic food production, broader natural resource management and development and been a vocal advocate and practitioner of interdisciplinary systems research. Outside of academia he has provided his expertise via reviews and consultations to various organizations such as Food Futures (UK), World Fish Center, FAO-NACA, WWF, and DfID. Most recently, David has been involved in the Blue Foods Assessment and continues to be a member of the Standards Oversight Committee of Global Aquaculture Alliance and of the Seafood Watch Aquaculture Technical Committee.