MSC Board Membership Changes

The Marine Stewardship Council  welcomed two new members to its Board of Trustees:  Mr Ichiro Nomura, recently retired as Assistant Director General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), heading its Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, and Mr Alastair Macfarlane, currently General Manager- Trade and Information, for the New Zealand Seafood Industry Council, reports www.megafishnet.com with reference to MSC.

Mr Nomura served a career as a top official of the Japanese Fisheries Agency, and he took up his role with the FAO in 2000 and served until his retirement in September.  As the head of the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, he was responsible for FAO's role in the development of policies, strategies and guidelines in relation to fisheries and aquaculture; for promoting and implementing the code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries; and co-operating with FAO Members on a comprehensive array of policy and management areas.  In his work for the Japanese Fisheries Agency, he was Chairman of the OECD Committee for Fisheries and Chairman of the International Commission for Conservation of Atlantic Tuna and served as the Japanese representative to   a number of international fora such as the Commission for Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, the FAO Committee on Fisheries and the UN Fish Stock Agreement Negotiation.

Mr Macfarlane was elected this summer by the MSC's Technical Advisory Board to serve as its chairman, and as such he became an ex officio member of the MSC Board of Trustees. He has worked as a trade policy analyst and negotiator for 30 years and has held senior roles in New Zealand seafood industry organisations since 1990, focusing principally on the areas of trade policy, international fisheries and market access.

Will Martin, MSC's Chairman of the Board of Trustees, said,  "We are very fortunate to be able to welcome Ichiro Nomura and Alastair Macfarlane to the Board.

"I have had the pleasure of knowing Ichiro Nomura for almost two decades, working with him both across the negotiating table and in cooperative efforts for sustainable fisheries, and I admire his integrity, intelligence and the key leadership roles he has played in the efforts to move fisheries to sustainability.  He is known universally as one of the very top international figures in the world of fisheries.  His expertise, insight and global connections, will be invaluable assets to our organisation, and we look forward to working with him.

"I have had also the pleasure of knowing for many years Alastair MacFarlane, who is one of the ‘foundation stones' in the history of the MSC and who brings a wealth of experience to the Board.  His roles in MSC go back to the establishment of the MSC's principles and criteria, and to the original stakeholder advisory group.  He has served on the TAB since its formation and now, as its Chairman, leads the development of technical and scientific policy and guidance, ensuring that the MSC standards and methodologies remain rigorous and relevant.  He brings seafood industry and trade policy skills to this critical role, and the MSC programme and partners have benefited greatly from his expertise in the development of the Chain of Custody standard.  His work with FAO and OECD reflects his international experience and standing.  I'm very pleased that both Mr. Nomura and Mr. MacFarlane have joined our Board."

Mr Nomura said, "I am very pleased to serve as a member of the Board and to bring some of my experience together with the other members to the governance of the MSC."

This summer, the MSC Board accepted the retirements of Mr Javier Corcuera of Argentina and Dr David Agnew of the United Kingdom.  Chairman Martin said, "We greatly appreciate the years of service to the Board by David and Javier, and extend our thanks, too, to David for his able service as the chair of MSC's Technical Advisory Board. We will miss both of them."