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
| Name | Current term | No. of term(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Valeria Merino | 01 January 2023 – 31 December 2025 | 2. |
Representatives of the Government sector
| Name | Role | Nominating organisation | Current term | No. of term(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andres Arens | Vice-Minister, Fisheries | Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fishing | 01 January 2023 – 31 December 2025 | 1. |
| Roy Clarisse | Principal Secretary, Fisheries | Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy, Seychelles | 01 January 2023 – 31 December 2025 | 1. |
| Joacim Johanneson | Programme Coordinator, Marine Spatial Planning Unit | Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management | 01 January 2023 – 31 December 2025 | 1. |
| Annika Mackensen | Advisor Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture | Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany | 23 May 2022 – 22 May 2025 | 1. |
| [VACANT] | ||||
| [VACANT] |
Representatives of the Business sector
| Name | Role | Nominating organisation | Current term | No. of term(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith Andre | President | Federation of the Fishers of the Indian Ocean (FPAOI) | 01 January 2022 – 31 December 2024 | 1. |
| Hugh Govan | Consultant | Locally Managed Marine Area Network International (LMMA) | 01 January 2022 – 31 December 2024 | 1. |
| Tony Lazazzara | Group Fisheries Sustainability Director | Thai Union Group | 01 January 2023 – 31 December 2025 | 1. |
| Dawda Foday Saine | Secretary General | African Confederation of Professional Organizations of Artisanal Fisheries (CAOPA) | 01 January 2023 – 31 December 2025 | 1. |
| Alfredo Sfeir | Founder and CEO | Shellcatch Inc. | 15 June 2022 – 14 June 2025 | 1. |
| [VACANT] |
Representatives of the Social Sector
| Name | Role | Nominating organisation | Current term | No. of term(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maisie Pigeon | Director, Global Fisheries Transparency Coalition | Oceana | 01 January 2023 – 31 December 2025 | 1. |
| Ahmed Senhoury | Executive Director | Regional Partnership for Coastal and Marine Conservation (PRCM) | 01 January 2022 – 31 December 2024 | 2. |
| Annie Tourette | Head of Advocacy | Blue Ventures | 01 January 2023 – 31 December 2025 | 1. |
| [VACANT] | ||||
| [VACANT] | ||||
| [VACANT] |
Observers
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 term
- FiTI International Board urges national authorities in Senegal to complete FiTI sign-up steps
- Call for 2022 membership election to the FiTI association
- FiTI International Board elects two new members and re-elects FiTI Chair for second term
- FiTI International Board elects four new members
- Open Government Partnership joins International Board of FiTI
- Call for 2021 membership election to the FiTI association
- FiTI Board approves indefinite suspension of annual country contributions
- FiTI Board approves COVID-19 induced 3-year moratorium on annual contributions
- Valeria Merino appointed as new Chair of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI)
- FiTI Board takes key decisions for the way forward
- 2nd INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE: Launching the first FiTI International Board
