Todd Clark, the vice president and partner of Endeavor Seafood in Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A. has officially completed his term as the chair of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI).
Clark has now served as NFI’s secretary, treasurer, vice-chairman, and chairman, and is a founding member of the Economic Integrity Taskforce. In 2020, Clark intends to continue on with NFI as a past chairman, and focus his expertise on the Global Seafood Market Conference, which he helped found in 2011.
“It is critically important to stay engaged with NFI, especially with continual changes occurring in Washington, D.C., and the uncertainty around those constant changes,” Clark said in a press release. “NFI plays a crucial role in keeping our industry well-represented and well-informed in this very rapidly changing environment. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as chairman for the past year.”
Clark has also become well-known in the industry for his role presenting at the annual World Groundfish Forum, and as a frequent speaker at industry events, including as a panel leader at GSMC.
Clark will be replaced as chair by Frank Dulcich, founder of the Pacific Seafood Group.
“I think it’s really fantastic that Frank is coming on board and continuing the stuff that we were working on,” Clark told SeafoodSource.
Clark said as NFI continues its mission of representing the seafood industry in the 75th year, he hopes more people become engaged with the organization.
“The thing I’ll say about NFI that we need to do is, we need to get more people engaged,” he said. NFI’s mission as an advocate for seafood is increasingly important, at both the local level and at the governmental level in Washington D.C. “If you’re not engaged, then things happen to you.”
Looking forward, he sees the organization continuing the work he helped spearhead.
“On things that are moving ahead, I think that the quality initiative is something that’s going to really help NFI as an organization,” Clark said.
Clark said he plans to continue being an advocate for the industry, and to engage in NFI.
“Todd has been a valued partner for a decade and never more so than this year – one of lots of change for the seafood community,” NFI President John Connelly said in a release. “He provided us steady guidance about how to approach issues, the importance of staying connected to our members, and urging us to continue to think globally. While no longer the NFI Chair, we look forward to Todd’s continued ideas on our work.”
Photo courtesy of Endeavor Seafood
