Speakers
Nada
Bougouss
Nada Bougouss is a Fishery Officer at the Value Chain Development Team (NFIMV), FAO’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Division. With more than 17 years of experience in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, she has been working on value chain development, marketing and trade, post-harvest issues, eco-labelling, certification and traceability.
She holds a M.Sc in Food Science from the Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Science Hassan II (Rabat, Morocco) and a M.Sc in Aquatic Food Security from the University of Stirling, UK.
Sylvia
Makgone
Silvia Makgone has been a member of the parliament of Namibia since 2010, serving in Parliamentary Standing committees on Gender and Family Affairs, ICT, Foreign affairs, Defense and Security, and IPU. She has served as Deputy Minister of Education from 2013 to 2015, Deputy Minister of Urban and Rural Development from 2015 to 2018, and Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources since February 2018.
She holds a Higher Education Diploma, a BA Degree, a Bachelor of Basic Education (BED), a National Diploma in Human Resources, a BTEch in Human Resources Development, and a Master of Human Resources.
She worked as a teacher from 1987 to 1995, a principal from 1996 to 2005, and a Deputy Director of Administration from 2006 to 2009. Throughout her career she has promoted education and social welfare.
Mathiesen
Árni M. Mathiesen has over 30 years of international experience in seafood and politics: he has been a Member of the Icelandic Parliament from 1991 to 2009, Minister of Fisheries from 1999 to 2005, Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2009. At FAO, he held the position of Assistant Director General in Rome and Head of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department from 2010 to 2019, acting as Special Advisor on Oceans of this institution in 2020.
He holds a Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery from the University of Edinburgh and a Master of Science in Aquatic Veterinary Science and Aquatic Pathobiology from the University of Stirling.
He is currently the independent Chair of the Global Round Table on Marine Ingredients and Senior Advisor at Iceland Ocean Cluster, which is made up of more than 70 companies and entrepreneurs involved in the blue economy. This cluster aims to foster collaboration, innovation and entrepreneurship by supporting and investing in start-ups that create value from underused marine resources, fostering the idea of achieving more whilst using less.
Øyvind
Ihle
Øyvind Ihle is the CEO of the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI), bringing a wealth of experience from leadership roles across the seafood and marine ingredients industries, with a strong focus on sustainability and innovation. GSSI is on a mission to ensure confidence in the supply and promotion of certified seafood as well as promote improvement efforts in seafood sustainability globally.
A native of Norway, Øyvind has spent the last decade championing health and sustainability within the seafood value chain, contributing to major companies like BASF (Omega-3), DSM/Veramaris (algae-based feed ingredients), and Avramar (bass bream aquaculture). His recent tenure as a Board member at Zooca, which focuses on zooplankton for feed and nutraceuticals, underscores his commitment to sustainable practices. His work in influencing consumer behaviour earned him a position on the marketing committee of the Seafood Nutrition Partnership’s Eat Seafood America campaign.
Antonio
Basanta
His professional experience includes serving as an advisor to the Ministry of the Environment from 2004 to 2005, and as the head of institutional and international relations at the Ministry of the Sea from 2009 to 2012. He was the Chief of Staff at the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Affairs from 2012 to 2015, and at the Ministry of the Sea from 2015 until May 2022.
Moreover, he has worked as a fishing and port service sailor and has taught various courses and master’s programs at the three Galician universities. He has also participated in and collaborated on several European Union projects.
Emily
Howgate
World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) measures how businesses impact people and planet, so that –together with stakeholders– we can hold companies accountable for contributing to sustainable development. As Engagement Lead for WBA’s new Ocean Spotlight, Emily connects with businesses, investors, scientists and civil society to help positive progress in the way companies consider –and act on– their marine-life impacts.
A nature kid at heart, Emily has spent a large part of her career engaged in market-based sustainability and fostering collaborative action for biodiversity and society. She’s been part of the leadership teams of various marine organisations and projects, including the international Seafood Summit, International Pole Line Foundation (IPNLF) and the World Fisheries Congress.
An experienced ocean advocate, she also integrates wider perspectives from her work in food systems and regenerative living. She’s passionate about forging strong relationships that help deliver business, policy and behaviour change in support of sustainability.
She has a BSc in Ecology (University of East Anglia) and an MSc in Sustainability and Responsibility (Ashridge Business School).
Susan
Steele
Executive Director European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA)
Born in Ireland, Dr. Steele has dedicated her entire career to the ocean. She has a degree in Marine Biology and a Phd in Zoology. Her thirst for knowledge led her to complete an MBA and a Masters in Adult Education in 2007, followed by a Diploma in Business and Executive Coaching in 2015, a Certificate in Public Law in 2015, a Professional Certificate in International Regulatory Affairs in 2015, a Harvard Executive Certificate in Public Management in 2018 and an International Chartered Director certification in 2019.
After completing her Phd in 1998, she served as a postdoctoral researcher and lecturers and later as an instructor and head of training at BIM Regional Fisheries College. Between 2009 and 2013, she spearheaded innovation as the Head of Ireland’s Seafood Development Centre, which she developed from a greenfield site.
In 2013, she joined the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, serving as CEO and Chair until 2021.
Dave
Robb
Group Sustainability Lead Cargill Aqua Nutrition Cargill Group / SeaBOS member
He represents Cargill in SeaBOS, leading the TaskForce on reducing the risk of IUU fishing and modern slavery in the fishery supply chains of members. He is also working in the West Coast Africa Keystone Project, co-leading the small pelagics work.
At Cargill, Robb leads work with fishmeal and fish oil suppliers to d evelop more sustainably managed fisheries. He focuses on forage fisheries, but also recognizes their interaction with fisheries for direct human consumption and non-target species. The aim is to create continuous improvement – through compliance with the FAO Code of Good Practice for Fisheries Management, which supports MarinTrust certification of fishmeal mills, to compliance with Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards.
José Basilio
Otero
José Basilio Otero has been president of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds (Spain) since 2017, presiding over the Provincial Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds of Lugo since 2014. He has been head of the Fishermen’s Guild of Burela since 2008, and skipper and shipowner since 1995, with the title of Multi skilled Coastal Skipper.
He is a member of the Economic and Social Council of Spain representing the National Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds, and a member of several advisory bodies at the regional, national and international level.
Cosme
Chief Sustainability and CSR Officer Nueva Pescanova Group
Nuno is the Chief Sustainability and CSR Officer of the Nueva Pescanova Group. He has joined the Group in 2017, and in his role since, he acts as a key driver of the necessary changes in business models and in the agendas of each area of activity, promoting more efficient processes and sustainable products. He is also responsible for transparent corporate reporting on sustainability and ESG matters.
He holds a degree in Marine Biology from Portugal, a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering, and a PhD in Sustainability Engineering from Denmark. He has an extensive background in quantifying and analysing the sustainability of products and processes, as well as conducting studies on ecology and managing environmental impacts.
Julián
Romero
He has had an extensive career in investment banking at Dresdner Bank, Banco Exterior de España and BBVA. At the latter, he was responsible for European Bond Syndication since 2005, creating the Sustainable Bonds group of this corporation in 2017.
He has witnessed the birth and development of green bond markets, representing his entity on the Green Bond Principles from their creation in 2014 until 2018. Additionally, he served as a member of the Green Finance Task Force commissioned by the British government in 2017.
Currently, he participates as a teacher in different specialized courses on Sustainable Finance (IEB, BME, IEF) and is co-responsible for the annual preparation of the OFISO Report on the state of Sustainable Finance in Spain.
Friðrik
Friðriksson
Friðrik Friðriksson has been working for Brim since 2017, which is a vertically integrated fishing company in Iceland. At Brim he works as the General counsel, which gives him a broad advisory role within the company. He has worked within fishing management, human resoruces, labour issues and collective bargaining, certification and corporate matters.
Prior to working for Brim, he worked for Fisheries Iceland for ten years on variety of projects, participating in various public committees and other public responsibilities on issues related to fisheries management and the business environment of fishing companies.
Javier
Fraga
He holds degrees in Economics and Business Administration and Management from the University of Santiago, as well as an Executive MBA. An expert in the maritime and fishing sector, he also has a postgraduate degree in Integrated Maritime Policy of the European Union and is certified as a European Investment Practitioner (EIP).
At ABANCA, he has promoted the Centre for Innovation in Maritime and Fisheries Legal Studies project, to support the Blue Economy and Society (MarInnleg). Additionally, he has created and currently directs the Executive Master in Seafood Management at the Intercontinental Business University.
Mª del Carmen
García
Since January 2024, she has served as the Director of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO). Prior to this role, she directed the Oceanographic Centre of Malaga as a senior scientist. She is also a member of the Mediterranean Climate Change Group, where she has led several marine monitoring projects, including RADMED, which focuses on monitoring the waters of the Spanish Mediterranean.
She is the author of numerous reports, books, and publications, and has presented papers at international conferences and led both national and international research projects. As the Principal Investigator of the Coordination and Support Action, BlueMissionMed, funded by the European Union, Mª del Carmen has represented the IEO at the European Marine Board and has led the European Marine Board Communications Panel. Currently, she represents the IEO in projects such as ScinMeet, the EuroGOOS Ocean Literacy Working Group, and the Ceimar Communication Commission.
She is a strong advocate for scientific dissemination and the power of citizenship, and has collaborated on outputs such as “Marine Science Communication in Europe”, “Ocean literacy in European Oceanographic Agencies” and “RED4C Guide; Citizen Science for Monitoring Climate Change”. She is currently taking part in the project “Oceánicas: women and oceanography”, having organized the “First Oceánicas Meeting”, which addressed the challenges faced by female scientists, technicians, and managers in their marine science careers.