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.

Current members of the FiTI International Board

Chair

Name	Current term	No. of term(s)
Valeria Merino	1 January 2020 – 31 December 2022	1.

Representatives of the Government sector

Name	Role	Organisation	Current term	No. of term(s)
Ylva Mattsson	Senior Analyst, International Affairs	Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management	24 January 2020 – 23 January 2023	2.
Philippe Michaud	Special Advisor to the Blue Economy	Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy, Seychelles	24 January 2020 – 23 January 2023	2.
Mohamed Salem Nany	Director General of Public Investments and Economic Cooperation	Ministry of Economy and Finance, Mauritania	24 January 2020 – 23 January 2023	2.
[VACANT]
[VACANT]
[VACANT]

Representatives of the Business sector

Name	Role	Organisation	Current term	No. of term(s)
Alexander Biryukov	President	Association of Russian Ship-owners in West Africa	24 January 2020 – 23 January 2023	2.
Francisco Leotte	Group Seafood Sustainability Technical Manager	Thai Union Europe	24 January 2020 – 23 January 2023	2.
Gaoussou Gueye	President	African Confederation of Artisanal Fisheries Professional Organizations (CAOPA)	24 January 2020 – 23 January 2023	2.
[VACANT]
[VACANT]
[VACANT]

Representatives of the Social Sector

Name	Role	Organisation	Current term	No. of term(s)
Sebastián Losada	Oceans policy advisor	Greenpeace	24 January 2020 – 23 January 2023	2.
Francisco J. Marí		Bread for the World	24 January 2020 – 23 January 2023	2.
Nedwa Nech	President	Mauritanie2000	24 January 2020 – 23 January 2023	2.
Alfred Schumm	Director Innovation, Sciences, Technologies & Solutions	WWF Germany	24 January 2020 – 23 January 2023	2.
Ahmed Senhoury	Executive Director	Regional Partnership for Coastal and Marine Conservation (PRCM)	26 June 2021 – 31 December 2021	1.
Eduardo Rolón	Executive Director	Causa Natura	24 January 2020 – 23 January 2023	2.

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

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

Correspondence of the FiTI Chair to the Minister of Economy and Finances of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania [English]

Relevant posts

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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.

International Board

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

Responsibilities of the FiTI International Board