July 20, 2021 — The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council:
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announces two new senior appointments in the Americas strengthening its position as a leader within the sustainable seafood movement. Erika Feller joins the MSC as Regional Director of the Americas from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation where she oversaw its ocean and coastal conservation efforts. She has more than two decades of experience working on marine issues, with a focus on fisheries and cross-sector partnerships. In Canada, Kurtis Hayne has been appointed Program Director to lead the Canada strategy. He most recently was the Senior Commercial and Fisheries Manager, Canada West and brings almost a decade of experience working for various organizations in seafood market analysis, fisheries, and ocean conservation.
Feller joined the MSC senior program management team on July 12 and is based in Washington, D.C. In her role as Regional Director she oversees the MSC’s work in the Americas, continuing to expand the MSC’s work with fisheries, the supply chain, and consumers. She leads a team of approximately 30 staff in Canada, the US, and Latin America, working closely with Program Directors: Cristian Vallejos in Latin America, Eric Critchlow in the US, and Kurtis Hayne in Canada.
Rupert Howes, Chief Executive of MSC, said: “I am delighted to welcome Erika to the MSC. Erika brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the sustainable seafood movement, as well as multistakeholder and solutions focused coalition building that will accelerate MSC’s work across the region to recognize and encourage sustainable fishing practices that support healthy marine ecosystems. I’m also pleased to recognize Kurtis Hayne, recently appointed as Canada’s Program Director. There is a huge opportunity to grow public awareness of sustainable seafood in the Americas and I look forward to working with Erika, Kurtis and the broader team in achieving that.”
“Sustainable fisheries help to keep oceans healthy and seafood on our plates; both are important to me,” said Feller. “I’m looking forward to being part of the MSC and for the opportunity to help fishermen and communities who are adopting sustainable practices on the water, as well as connect with consumers who care about where their food comes from.”
Feller brings a breadth of experience in ocean and coastal conservation. Most recently, she directed programs for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, guiding investment in improved fishery monitoring, coastal resilience, and helping to recover resources in the Gulf of Mexico impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. She began her career as a legislative and policy adviser on natural resource and environmental issues in the US House of Representatives, and later joined the Nature Conservancy where she led a North America-wide initiative to promote sustainable fisheries. She also served at the White House Council on Environmental Quality supporting interagency efforts on large scale ecosystem restoration around the U.S. Feller currently serves as the Chair of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee, which advises the U.S. Secretary of Commerce on all living marine resource matters that are the responsibility of the Department of Commerce.
The new appointments come as the sustainable seafood movement builds momentum in the Americas with fisheries continuing to engage in the program, strong supply chain commitments, and increased visibility of the MSC blue fish label on seafood products. The vast majority (82.31%) of commercially landed seafood in the US, and more than half (57.6%) in Canada, is engaged in the MSC program, accounting for 4.25 million metric tons of seafood caught every year*. A further 1.4 million metric tons originate from fisheries engaged with the MSC program in Latin America* (*figures accurate as of July 2021).