Québec City, Canada-based aquaculture technology firm XpertSea has appointed Roxanne Nanninga its as its new chief sustainability officer.
Previously, Nanninga served as senior director of sustainability at Thai Union North America.
“Roxanne is a leader for change in the seafood industry and we’re thrilled that she has joined XpertSea at this time of growth for our company," XpertSea CEO Valerie Robitaille said. “With her vast experience driving implementation of responsible practices across global supply chains, Roxanne will play an important role in helping XpertSea achieve its mission of bringing more traceable and sustainable seafood to the world."
Robitaille said the hire deepens XpertSea’s commitment to sustainability “as a core component of its strategy by rewarding responsible farming practices and bringing more transparent, environmentally-conscious seafood to market.”
Nanninga has spent her career working to improve global fisheries and ocean conservation. She has a master's degree from Duke University in environmental management and international development.
“Working at the intersection of technology, finance, and seafood operations creates a fantastic opportunity to drive change in the industry," Nanninga said. “The world is increasingly connected and demands healthy, responsibly-produced food to feed our changing planet. I believe that we, at XpertSea, can empower farmers, buyers, and seafood consumers to produce and consume more responsibly by realigning incentives and bringing a new level of transparency.”
XpertSea’s platform uses artificial intelligence and computer vision to count and size early-stage aquatic organisms such as shrimp larvae and live feed. The company’s technology allows farms and hatcheries to track and manage their aquatic populations with greater speed and accuracy. It is the maker of XperCount software, which allows shrimp farmers to count, size, weigh, and image animal samples using a smartphone with a camera.
In August 2021, XpertSea announced it had raised USD 20 million (EUR 17 million) in a series B funding round, and counts Aqua-Spark as a lead investor.
“Roxanne’s track record in guiding some of the world's largest seafood companies to taking a sustainable path, combined with XpertSea’s commitment to increasing sustainable seafood production while powering a transparent global shrimp marketplace, makes it clear that shrimp is moving toward a more ecological and socially just future,” AquaSpark Co-Founder and Managing Partner Amy Novogratz said. Novogratz is also an XpertSea board member.
Photo courtesy of XpertSea
