Santa Cruz, Calif. (June 14, 2018) – FishWise is pleased to announce the creation of a new Social Responsibility Division, furthering its mission as a leader in the sustainable seafood movement, particularly in the areas of traceability and social responsibility. Aurora Alifano has been promoted to direct this component of FishWise’s work. The Traceability Division will be headed up by Mark Richardson, who joined FishWise in January 2018 as a senior project director. Additionally, the Seafood Alliance for Legality and Traceability (SALT) will be maintained as a stand-alone project, headed up by Jenny Barker. These teams will continue to work closely together, as well as with FishWise’s Business Engagement and Data Divisions, toward advancing leadership in sustainable seafood through environmentally and socially responsible business practices.
In recent years, FishWise has seen its work grow significantly in both traceability (the ability to track the movement of seafood through supply chains) and human/labor rights. Establishing separate divisions expands capacity in these areas and better positions FishWise for future projects. Most importantly, these changes strengthen FishWise’s role as a connector and convener of broad and diverse stakeholders to tackle some of the most intractable challenges within the seafood industry.
Named an Influence Leader on the 2017 Top 100 Human Trafficking & Slavery Influence Leaders List, Aurora Alifano has been leading FishWise’s multi-stakeholder initiatives to improve business practices that protect human and labor rights within the seafood industry for the last three years. Her cross-sector engagement strategy brings human rights, labor, and human trafficking experts into the world of seafood sustainability, uniting companies, governments, and civil society to develop new tools and best practices. Her work also integrates social responsibility into seafood sourcing recommendations and traceability improvements for FishWise business partners.
Working closely with stakeholders from industry, government, academia, and NGOs, Mark Richardson leads the Traceability Division in developing novel solutions and collaborative approaches to help seafood industry partners achieve their traceability goals and identify and address products from their supply chains that are at risk from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Prior to joining FishWise, Richardson worked for The Pew Charitable Trusts where he supported the development of a satellite technology platform to detect and monitor IUU fishing activity, created analytical tools to help industry assess IUU risks within their supply chains, and led a partnership with INTERPOL to create a multi-national initiative that combats illegal fishing and related criminal activity through its global police network.
Jenny Barker joined FishWise in January 2018 as the Chief of Party of SALT, leading the public-private partnership with USAID and the Walton Family, David & Lucile Packard, and Gordon and Betty Moore Foundations. With 17 years of experience in the public and private sector managing international programs, Barker was the Director of the USAID-funded Global FISH Alliance (G-FISH) from 2009-2014 bringing diverse stakeholders together to identify solutions for better fisheries management in the developing world. She has implemented fisheries management programs in Honduras, Mozambique, and Cambodia. Currently, SALT is convening stakeholders from around the world to create a global alliance for knowledge exchange and action to promote legal and sustainable fisheries through improved transparency in seafood supply chains.
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About FishWise
FishWise is a non-profit sustainable seafood consultancy based in Santa Cruz, CA. Uniquely positioned between the seafood industry and marine conservation organizations, FishWise offers a range of services that empower businesses and a diverse community of collaborators to lead the transition to a sustainable, responsible seafood industry. For more information, please visit www.fishwise.org, and follow FishWise’s work on Facebook and Twitter.