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
NameCurrent termNo. of term(s)
Valeria Merino01 January 2023 –
31 December 2025
2.

Representatives of the Government sector
NameRoleNominating organisationCurrent termNo. of term(s)
Andres ArensVice-Minister, FisheriesMinistry of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fishing, Ecuador01 January 2023 –
31 December 2025
1.
Roy ClarissePrincipal Secretary, FisheriesMinistry of Fisheries and Blue Economy, Seychelles01 January 2023 –
31 December 2025
1.
Joacim JohannesonProgramme Coordinator, Marine Spatial Planning UnitSwedish Agency for Marine and Water Management01 January 2023 –
31 December 2025
1.
Annika MackensenAdvisor Sustainable Fisheries and AquacultureFederal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany23 May 2022 –
22 May 2025
1.
[VACANT]
[VACANT]
Representatives of the Business sector
NameRoleNominating organisationCurrent termNo. of term(s)
Keith AndrePresidentFederation of the Fishers of the Indian Ocean (FPAOI)01 January 2022 –
31 December 2024
1.
Hugh GovanConsultantLocally Managed Marine Area Network International (LMMA)01 January 2022 –
31 December 2024
1.
Tony LazazzaraGroup Fisheries Sustainability DirectorThai Union Group01 January 2023 –
31 December 2025
1.
Dawda Foday SaineSecretary GeneralAfrican Confederation of Professional Organizations of Artisanal Fisheries (CAOPA)01 January 2023 –
31 December 2025
1.
Alfredo SfeirFounder and CEOShellcatch Inc.15 June 2022 –
14 June 2025
1.
[VACANT]
Representatives of the Social Sector
NameRoleNominating organisationCurrent termNo. of term(s)
Zacari EdwardsSocial Responsibility DirectorInternational Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF)01 August 2023 –
31 July 2026
1.
Maisie PigeonDirector, Global Fisheries Transparency CoalitionOceana01 January 2023 –
31 December 2025
1.
Ketakandriana RafitosonExecutive Director, Transparency International Initiative Madagascar (TI-MG)Transparency International (TI)01 August 2023 –
31 July 2026
1.
Ahmed SenhouryExecutive DirectorRegional Partnership for Coastal and Marine Conservation (PRCM)01 January 2022 –
31 December 2024
2.
Umair ShahidIndian Ocean Tuna Manager (Senior)World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)01 August 2023 –
31 July 2026
1.
Annie TouretteHead of AdvocacyBlue Ventures01 January 2023 –
31 December 2025
1.

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 Joe Powell, Deputy Chief Executive Officer

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

  • Board Circular No. 1 | Decided on: 1 November 2018 | Download Circular
  • Board Circular No. 2 | Decided on: 25 October 2019 | Download Circular
  • Board Circular No. 3 | Decided on: 24 March 2020 | Download Circular
  • Board Circular No. 4 | Decided on: 7 September 2020 | Download Circular
  • Board Circular No. 5 | Decided on: 29 April 2021 | Download Circular
  • Board Circular No. 6 | Decided on: 22 October 2021 | Based on a Board decision, this Circular will not be made publicly available.
  • Board Circular No. 7 | Decided on: 22 February 2022 | Download Circular
  • Board Circular No. 8 | Decided on: 9 March 2022 | Download Circular
  • Board Circular No. 9 | Decided on: 15 March 2022 | Download Circular
  • Board Circular No. 10 | Decided on: 11 May 2022 | Download Circular
  • Board Circular No. 11 | Decided on: 22 November 2022 | Based on a Board decision, this Circular will not be made publicly available.
  • Board Circular No. 12 | Decided on: 11 May 2023 | Download Circular
  • Board Circular No. 13 | Decided on: 21 June 2023 | Based on a Board decision, this Circular will not be made publicly available.
  • Board Circular No. 14 | Decided on: 15 November 2023 | Download Circular

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