Delta Blue Aquaculture’s Jeff Fort has signed on with the Global Aquaculture Alliance as its new chief operating officer, adding to his existing role as chief financial officer, the organization announced in late November.
Fort, who has been involved with GAA since it was created in 1997, has been CFO since 2012, and is a member of the organization’s board of directors and executive committee. His company, Delta Blue Aquaculture, which Fort has owned since 1992, is considered a GAA founding member.
When relocating its headquarters to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, a few years ago, GAA depended on Fort’s capacity management to ensure a smooth transition, GAA Executive Director Wally Stevens said.
“Jeff has supported GAA since its inception in many capacities and has been instrumental recently with the consolidation of operations and staffing in our Portsmouth headquarters,” Stevens said. “The professionalism and performance of our associates is what distinguishes GAA, and Jeff can rightly take a good deal of credit for getting us to where we are today.”
Fort also has factored prominently into the evolution of GAA’s Best Aquaculture Practices third-party certification program, serving as an officer and board member of the Aquaculture Certification Council, which was the predecessor to BAP. Fort’s shrimp farm in Belize became the first aquaculture farm in the world to achieve BAP certification.
“I have been a supporter of GAA since its inception, first as a shrimp aquaculture producer and then as a volunteer contributing time. For the last few years, I’ve been fully immersed in the strategy and operations. I am very passionate about the work GAA does and the impacts we have on global aquaculture audiences. GAA and the BAP program offer a very unique set of solutions, tools, and assurances for the entire seafood supply chain. This approach sets GAA apart, and I am excited to continue to build on this success,” said Fort, who will be stationed in GAA’s Portsmouth office.
In addition to his work with GAA and Delta Blue Aquaculture, Fort has been an owner of Utah-based seafood distributor Fog River LLC since 2009, and has been a partner in Vermont-based online wildflower retailer AmericanMeadows.com since 2008.
