Global Aquaculture Alliance changes name to Global Seafood Alliance

The Global Aquaculture Alliance announced on 20 April that it has officially changed its name to the Global Seafood Alliance, following a vote by its board of directors and the board of directors of its sister organization, Global Seafood Assurances.

GAA launched Global Seafood Assurances in 2018 as a nonprofit addressing marketplace expectations and assurance involving environmental responsibility, social responsibility, food safety, and animal welfare for both farmed and wild-caught seafood. The United Kingdom’s Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish) signed a memorandum of understanding with the nonprofit to address a gap in certification, before ultimately signing over the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard.

Since the acquisition of the RFVS, the standard has been introduced to the market and the first vessel obtained the RFVS in January.

The name, the newly formed Global Seafood Alliance said, “reflects the merger and the nonprofit organization’s growing involvement in wild fisheries through the edition of the Seafood Processing Plant Standard Issue 5.1 and the Responsible Fishing Vessel Standard.”

The newly formed alliance will include the introduction of Best Seafood Practices – the wild fisheries equivalent of third-party aquaculture certification program Best Aquaculture Practices. The new Best Seafood Practices will “house SPS Issue 5.0 and RFVS,” according to the Global Seafood Alliance.  The new Global Seafood Alliance brand identity will be revealed in the third quarter of 2021, the organizations said.

“The transition to the Global Seafood Alliance builds upon our industry-leading Best Aquaculture Practices certification program, as well as our world-class advocacy and education work, all of which previously focused on farmed seafood,” Global Seafood Alliance CEO Wally Stevens said in a release. “Best Seafood Practices and other seafood advocacy and education work will become equally important as aquaculture within the Global Seafood Alliance. We are excited about our future.”

In addition to the new name, Global Seafood Alliance also announced that Brian Perkins, the former regional director-Americas for the Marine Stewardship Council who joined GAA in January 2021, will serve as its chief operating officer.

“Even though the merger with Global Seafood Assurances and name change represent a milestone in the evolution of the Global Aquaculture Alliance, there’s still a lot of work to do,” Perkins said. “We look forward to growing SPS Issue 5.0 and RFVS while continuing to build our reputation within the wild-fisheries community.”