MSC grows its multi-stakeholder board with five new members

Five new members have been appointed to the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) Board of Trustees, the certification organization announced on 2 April. 

The new board members hail from the retail, fishing, and conservation sectors, and include: David Lock, the chairman of Western Australian fishing company Mareterram Ltd.; Giles Bolton, the responsible sourcing director for Tesco plc; Maria Damanaki, the global managing director for oceans from The Nature Conservancy and the former European Union Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries; Stefanie Moreland, the vice president of government relations, seafood sustainability, and corporate social sustainability from Trident Seafoods Corporation; and Amanda Nickson, the international fisheries director for The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Lock joined the MSC Board of Trustees back in November 2018, while Bolton and Moreland entered the fold in January 2019. Both Damanaki and Nickson are expected to take their seats in July. 

The MSC’s Board consists of 15 members spanning industry, academia, conservation, retail, and other fields “carefully selected to ensure decision-making remains balanced and reflects different sectors and interests,” said the MSC. 

Trustees are chosen to serve on the board based on a number of factors, including their knowledge, expertise, and support for the MSC. New members are often identified by existing members, who bring candidates to the seated board for review. After the review process, nominees are approached for an interview, according to the MSC. There must be consensus amongst all board members on the appointment of a new candidate before they are formally invited to join the collective, the certifier added. 

“As the MSC strives to maintain and strengthen its world-leading standards for sustainable fishing and seafood traceability, we rely on the insight, expertise, and time of leaders from across the seafood, marine science and conservation communities,” explained Werner Kiene, who will serve on the MSC Board for his third and final term starting in July, in a press release. “In setting the MSC’s strategic direction, it is critical that the board of trustees comprises a diversity of perspectives, experience and knowledge. We’re delighted to be welcoming such a high-caliber group of new members to the board, as we continue to uphold and evolve our multi-stakeholder governance model.”

Trustees join the board in a personal capacity and, therefore, do not represent their organizations or companies. They serve three-year terms, standing for re-appointment for a second term. Meanwhile, the chairman of the board may serve three terms of three years, the MSC said. 

The board consists of a mixture of undesignated and designated seats. The eight designated seats are comprised of two seats for each of the following sectors: industry, conservation, market, and marine science. Bolton will take the currently vacant market seat, and Damanaki will take one of conservation seats when Lynne Hale, who serves as the senior marine conservation fellow at the Nature Conservancy’s Global Marine Initiative, retires in July 2019.

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