Robert Jones Joins GAAs Board of Directors
The Global Aquaculture Alliance is pleased to announce that Robert Jones has joined the GAA board of directors, effectively immediately, the organization announced in early August.
Jones is the global aquaculture lead for The Nature Conservancy, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization with a mission to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. As head of The Nature Conservancy’s new aquaculture program, Jones leads a cross-organizational 25-person team, which is currently working on multiple on-the-ground projects in seven countries, and is responsible for the program’s partnership and fundraising efforts.
Previously, Jones was the aquaculture program coordinator for the NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture. NOAA Fisheries, or the National Marine Fisheries Service, is the U.S. government’s fisheries and aquaculture regulatory arm. He has also acted as a Foreign Affairs Officer for the U.S. Department of State Office of Marine Conservation and a Research Assistant with the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Jones has a B.A. in international studies and environmental studies from Boston College and a M.S. in aquaculture from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.
“The Global Aquaculture Alliance, as a leading organization, has a critical role to play in ensuring aquaculture grows in a manner that benefits humanity within planetary boundaries,” said Jones. “I am honored by the opportunity to join the board of directors and look forward to working with the GAA and the members of the board to achieve its mission.”
“We are delighted to have Robert come on to the GAA board. He is an individual with the hands-on involvement of improving the aquaculture sector so that it fulfills its opportunity to produce a healthy protein product to feed a growing global population and to do so in ways that protect our natural resources. Robert’s experience and current work will bring a wonderful dimension to the work of GAA,” added GAA Chairman Wally Stevens.
Jones’ addition to the GAA board of directors comes four-and-a-half months after five new directors were named to the 20-member board at the board’s biannual meeting at Seafood Expo North America in Boston.
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 standards-setting organization for aquaculture seafood.
