Herman Wisse departs GSSI, reflects on a decade with the seafood certification group

Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI) Executive Director Herman Wisse officially departed the organization on 31 March, 2023, after a decade with the seafood certification group.

Wisse, who said he is leaving the role to spend more time with his family, was instrumental to the formation of GSSI. In 2012 he was asked by a group of industry leaders to develop a project proposal to get GSSI under way, including Ahold Delhaize, Metro Group, and the National Fisheries Institute. Joining the industry groups were a number of government and nonprofit partners, including GIZ, FAO, and the New England Aquarium.

According to Wisse, in the years before the launch of GSSI in February 2013, the seafood sustainability landscape was polarized and fragmented, with increasing confusion about certification and sustainability claims.

“The seafood industry is like a family, and I feel a part of that family. I know there will always be a place to land that needs me. For the past 10 years, I have given everything I’ve got to this organization, and I will always be a proud champion of GSSI. I will continue to look for ways to help make our great industry more sustainable, but I do see myself taking some time to dedicate to my family at home before making another big work commitment,” Wisse said. “As I talk about this, a distinct memory comes to mind of a top seafood executive walking around with his baby on his arm at one of the receptions during SENA. We don’t always see eye-to-eye, but the seafood industry has a family energy that is worth acknowledging for its uniqueness.”

GSSI was developed with a signed cooperation agreement between the German Development Corporation and 15 of the first companies. Following its launch GSSI developed its Global Benchmark Tool and had the first partnership meeting, which included invitations more than 50 seafood executives.

By 2015, the GSSI Global Benchmark Tool was fully launched to recognize seafood certification schemes that align with GSSI components grounded in its code of conduct for responsible fisheries and the FAO guidelines for seafood certification.

“Really what the benchmark tool has done is create an opportunity for a bottom-up approach, thereby creating ownership and true understanding of the stakeholders that are driving that program (however slow that might go). With this, you begin to understand that the values and the need for sustainability are internalized within the stakeholder group, rather than forced from an external partner,” Wisse said. “For me, this answers the never-ending question of, 'Why do we need another certification scheme?' It’s not always about needing another seal, it’s about people wanting to feel another level of ownership by developing their own program.”

GSSI benchmarked its first certification programs by 2016 and major retailers began including the GSSI Global Benchmark Tool in their sustainable sourcing policies by 2017, according to Wisse. GSSI's Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SCCI) partnership was created in 2018 to create a benchmark and recognition tool for social compliance schemes in the global seafood sector.

“GSSI will continue to be an impactful organization, but let’s be honest, initiative fatigue and duplication are a big risk to our industry. I am concerned about the number of initiatives coming in because the bandwidth of the leaders who need to drive these is limited. They can’t sit on five boards – they are busy, they have day jobs," Wisse said. "With the changing economic environment, executives will be asked to do more with less also when it comes to budgets for sustainability. So, the answer, in my mind, is collaboration and alignment and we must do it with and trust – together we can scale and tackle the difficult problems efficiently.” 

According to Wisse, maintaining and strengthening the reputation of GSSI, including developing through collaboration, the Seafood MAP market and investment program, are keys to the organization's future. Seafood MAP, which stands for Measuring and Accelerating Performance of global seafood supply, will give global guidance to producers, while creating opportunities for investors to finance sustainable seafood initiatives in the growing markets of Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

“I think if there is a shift going on at GSSI, it’s that the GSSI partners now fully see the value in the trust, credible network, and opportunity to collaboratively tackle challenges that they have built," Wisse said. "This is now the prominent benefit of involvement. Building the benchmark was the biggest deliverable by far, but now it’s the network of partners that hold the power in the sense that if you can get agreement among that platform, you have critical mass to make a difference.” 

Photo courtesy of Herman Wisse/LinkedIn