International Board

The FiTI International Board is the global supervisory body of the initiative.

The FiTI International Board reflects a multi-stakeholder composition. In accordance with the constitution of the FiTI association, the FiTI International Board comprises of the FiTI Chair and 18 voting Board Members, equally distributed among full members from the three stakeholder groups:

• Government sector: a total of six individuals nominated by public sector institutions;

• Business sector: a total of six individuals nominated by private sector organisations, evenly distributed between industrial/large-scale and the small-scale/artisanal marine fisheries sector;

• Social sector: a total of six individuals nominated by organisations that serve society at large.

The FiTI International Board is presided and represented by its Chair, which does not count towards the total number of seats.

Representatives from intergovernmental organisations, regional development banks, development agencies, other relevant organisations, as well as individual experts may be invited by the FiTI International Board to attend FiTI Board meetings as observers.

Meetings of the FiTI International Board are regarded as general meetings of the members of the association.

Responsibilities of the FiTI International Board

The FiTI International Board oversees the activities of the FiTI through regular Board meetings and Board Circulars, including:

• Assessing candidate applications of countries;
• Evaluating the performance of countries against the FiTI Standard based on validations;
• Establishing mechanisms to collect and address complaints, resolve disagreements, and act if countries are deemed non-compliant;
• Overseeing and guiding the work of the FiTI International Secretariat through annual workplans and bylaws;
• Appointing the Executive Director of the FiTI International Secretariat;
• Supporting the FiTI International Secretariat in outreach and fundraising activities;
• Agreeing on the arrangements for FiTI global conferences;
• Approving the annual budget, financial statement and audited reports of the FiTI;
• Electing new members of the FiTI, which serve as International Board members;
• Electing the FiTI Chair of the FiTI International Board;
• Enhancing the FiTI Standard over time;
• Promoting transparency and multi-stakeholder participation in marine fisheries governance; and
• Adhering to the FiTI Global Code of Conduct.

The members of the FiTI International Board, except for the FiTI Chair, do not receive remuneration in return for performing their board member duties.

The language of the FiTI International Board is English.

Current members of the FiTI International Board

Chair

Representatives of the Government sector

Representatives of the Business sector

Representatives of the Social Sector

Observers

African Development Bank, represented by Ms Salimata Soumare, Senior Natural Resources Governance Officer at African Natural Resources Centre

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, represented by Mr Marcio Castro de Souza, Senior Fishery Officer – International Trade

Open Government Partnership, represented by Mr Theophilous Chiviru, Regional Lead for Africa and the Middle East

The World Bank, represented by Mr Julien Million, Senior Fisheries Specialist – Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy

FiTI International Board meetings

FiTI International Board Circulars

Relevant posts

• 
  FiTI International Board elects seven new members for 2023-2025 termJanuary 9, 2023
  9 January 2023. The International Board of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) is extremely pleased to welcome seven new members to the FiTI association: Mr Andres ARENS, Mr Roy CLARISSE, Mr Joacim JOHANNESON, Mr Tony LAZAZZARA, Ms Maisie PIGEON, Mr Dawda Foday SAINE, and Ms Annie TOURETTE.
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  FiTI International Board urges national authorities in Senegal to complete FiTI sign-up stepsOctober 26, 2022
  During its 18th meeting, the FiTI International Board – the global oversight body of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) – voiced its concerns about the lack of progress of Senegal to become a FiTI Candidate country and urged national authorities to complete the remaining sign-up steps, after a considerable period of inaction.
• 
  Call for 2022 membership election to the FiTI associationJune 15, 2022
  The Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) is expanding its membership and is looking for 12 new members who are passionate about shaping the global agenda for transparency and multi-stakeholder participation in fisheries management.
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  FiTI International Board elects two new members and re-elects FiTI Chair for second termMay 23, 2022
  23 May 2022. The International Board of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) is extremely pleased to welcome two new members to the FiTI association: Dr. Annika MACKENSEN and Alfredo SFEIR. Furthermore, Dr Valeria MERINO was re-elected as the Chair of the FiTI International Board for a second term (January 2023 until December 2025).
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  FiTI International Board elects four new membersJanuary 14, 2022
  14 January 2022. The International Board of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) is extremely pleased to welcome four new members to the FiTI association: Mr. Keith ANDRE, Ms. Mialy ANDRIAMAHEFAZAFY, Ph.D., Mr. Hugh GOVAN, Ph.D., and Dr. Ahmed SENHOURY.
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  Open Government Partnership joins International Board of FiTIOctober 4, 2021
  In order to promote access to information and public participation in marine fisheries, as well as wider open government reforms, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) agreed on intensifying their existing collaboration. This includes, inter alia, that the Open Government Partnership, represented by Mr Theo Chiviru, OGP Regional Lead for Africa and the Middle East, will become a permanent observer to the FiTI International Board with immediate effect.
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  Call for 2021 membership election to the FiTI associationJuly 15, 2021
  The Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) is expanding its membership and is looking for 7 new International Board members who are passionate about shaping the global agenda for transparency and multi-stakeholder participation in fisheries management.
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  FiTI Board approves indefinite suspension of annual country contributionsApril 29, 2021
  Victoria, 29 April 2021. The International Board of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) approved today an indefinite suspension of annual financial contributions from participating countries, starting 1 May 2021.
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  FiTI Board approves COVID-19 induced 3-year moratorium on annual contributionsSeptember 7, 2020
  Victoria, 7 September 2020. The International Board of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) has announced today its approval of granting countries a three-year moratorium (2020 – 2022) regarding annual financial contributions, due to the current global COVID-19 pandemic.
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  Valeria Merino appointed as new Chair of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI)October 28, 2019
  Berlin/Victoria – 28 October 2019. The International Board of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) appointed today Dr. Valeria Merino as the 2nd Chair of the FiTI.
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  FiTI Board takes key decisions for the way forwardFebruary 13, 2019
  BERLIN – 12-13 December 2018. During its 5th meeting, the International Board of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) discussed the current status of the initiative and made a number of important decisions:
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  2nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: Launching the first FiTI International BoardMay 12, 2017
  INDONESIA, 27 April 2017; The 1st FiTI International Board was launched at the 2nd International Conference of the FiTI on April 27, 2017.