GAA APPOINTS INDUSTRY VETERAN BRIAN PERKINS AS COO
GAA appoints industry veteran Brian Perkins as COO. Seafood industry veteran Brian Perkins is joining the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA) as its chief operating officer, the organisation announced on Jan. 18, 2021.
In addition to developing and implementing strategies to integrate and transition to the Global Seafood Alliance, Perkins will be responsible for managing Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), the world’s leading third-party aquaculture certification programme, including oversight of the BAP market development team, programme integrity team and certification team.
“The seafood community thrives on trusted personal relationships cultivated and tested over time. It benefits not only when individuals do well by their company, but equally when those individuals contribute to the greater good through their involvement in pre-competitive activities. Brian Perkins’ career is an example of the attributes we look for in all our associates, and I am personally delighted that he will be joining us as our COO,” said GAA CEO Wally Stevens.
Added Stevens:
“We’re fortunate in that we’ve had a fruitful working relationship with Brian since his days at Diversified Communications, where he oversaw the company’s seafood expositions and publications. He comes with a wealth of knowledge in events and media that will be applied to GAA’s activities.”
Perkins has four decades of experience in the seafood industry, starting out working in a salt fish factory in Iceland and a small fishing boat out of Grimsey, Iceland, after which he spent nearly a decade as a commercial fisherman in Maine.
“I am very excited to be joining GAA and to help transition the organisation to the Global Seafood Alliance. This is a unique opportunity to work across both wild and farmed seafood, helping to ensure it is responsibly produced and handled throughout the supply chain. Seafood is critical to the world’s food portfolio,” said Perkins. “The concept of filling in the gaps of assurances to include, for example, social responsibility in wild seafood harvesting and processing is the right idea at the right time. I look forward to leveraging my experience and knowledge to help contribute to the development of the sustainable seafood industry.”
The COO will be based out of GAA’s Portsmouth, New Hampshire, headquarters, reporting to GAA CEO Wally Stevens. The new COO role was added to the organisation with the intent that he or she would transition to the CEO role in due time.
About GAA
The Global Aquaculture Alliance is an international, non profit 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 organisation for aquaculture seafood.
