Aquaculture Stewardship Council hires Ally Dingwall as senior director of technical operations

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council has hired Ally Dingwall as its senior director of technical operations.

The newly created role will oversee coordination of ASC’s standard systems and certification assurance processes, according to the London, U.K. and Utrect, The Netherlands-based sustainable seafood certification organization.

Dingwall previously worked as Sainsbury’s aquaculture and fisheries manager, where he won a Seafood Champion Award for Leadership in 2016 for his work in guiding Sainsbury’s path towards becoming MSC Fish Retailer of the Year in 2014. He has also played a key role in several sustainable seafood organizations and encouraged other retailers in the U.K. to commit to MSC standards for sourcing of seafood, according to the Seaweb organization, previously the presenter of the Seafood Champion Awards. Additionally, Dingwall has served as a member of ASC’s supervisory board for the past three years, where he helped advance the ASC aquafeed standard.

“Working to expand and improve Sainsbury’s commitment to responsible seafood involved a lot of close work with ASC, whose standards are trusted and respected across the industry. On top of that, I’ve been able to see how ASC works from the inside as a board member, and I was impressed by what I saw,” Dingwall said. “I believe that ASC will play a crucial role in ensuring a growing supply of environmentally sustainably and socially responsible food from the aquaculture industry. I’m excited to be using my industry experience to help achieve that.”

In his new role, Dingwall will ensure best practices are effectively applied in ASC’s standard systems and will coordinate the activities of the the ASC’s standards and science directorate and the program assurance directorate. Dingwall will coordinate and provide strategic direction to the two directorates, which are responsible for creating and revising ASC’s standards, and coordinating with independent certification companies to ensure ASC standards are applied properly, respectively. Dingwall will also support ASC CEO Chris Ninnes and ASC’s senior management team and supervisory board.

In a press release, Ninnes said ASC’s addition of Dingwall adds incomparable experience in aquaculture production and processing, and responsible sourcing policy development and implementation.

“Having worked with Ally for many years, I know how passionate he is about responsible aquaculture. We’re really excited that all his experience and expertise will now be dedicated towards the technical functions of ASC, which are foundational to the program and are what set us apart as the world’s leading aquaculture certification standard,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Ally Dingwall/Twitter