GAA Seeks COO As Organization Becomes More Involved in Wild Fisheries
The Global Aquaculture Alliance has initiated the search for a chief operating officer, a new role within the organization that will likely evolve into the role of chief executive officer, the organization announced on Nov. 11.
The COO will be responsible for managing GAA’s industry-leading Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) third-party certification program, including oversight of the BAP market development team, BAP program integrity team and BAP certification team, and will work cross functionally to achieve organization’s mission of responsible aquaculture. The COO will be based out of GAA’s Portsmouth, New Hampshire, headquarters, reporting to GAA CEO Wally Stevens.
The hiring of a COO comes as GAA becomes more involved in wild fisheries with the adoption of Version 5.0 of the Seafood Processing Plant Standards and the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard, which is currently managed by GAA’s sister organization, Global Seafood Assurances. Over the course of 2021, the assurances from third-party certification standards for wild fisheries and aquaculture will merge under one roof, called the Global Seafood Alliance.
“GAA has evolved over 20-plus years with its advocacy for aquaculture and the growth of the BAP program to a position of a global leader. We now plan to develop and provide the same credible assurances for wild-caught seafood with our processing plant and fishing vessel standards,” said Stevens.
One of the first steps of the transition to the Global Seafood Alliance will be the addition of the COO role, who will most likely evolve into the role of CEO of the Global Seafood Alliance. In addition to building upon the success of the BAP program, the COO will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies to integrate and transition the organization to the Global Seafood Alliance.
Qualified candidates are encouraged to submit a resume along with a cover letter to GAA Director of Human Resources Belinda Braley at belinda.braley@aquaculturealliance.org.
About GAA
The Global Aquaculture Alliance is an international, nonprofit trade association dedicated to advancing environmentally and socially responsible aquaculture. Through the development of its Best Aquaculture Practices certification standards, GAA has become the leading standardssetting organization for aquaculture seafood.
