Contact: Mike Crispino
+1 703-226-8102
mcrispino@iss-foundation.org
WASHINGTON, DC – February 21, 2010 – The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) announced today that Dr. Victor Restrepo has been appointed to Chair the Foundation’s independent Science Advisory Committee, taking on the role full-time in April 2010.
“Victor is profoundly talented, widely respected and his leadership skills will be an incredible asset to our organization,” ISSF President Susan Jackson said. “This is a demanding job but we’re in the enviable position of having found the right scientist for it.”
Dr. Restrepo has been involved in tuna fisheries science for over twenty years, primarily in stock assessment. He spent six of the past eight years working as Assistant Executive Secretary for the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and also served as a member of the ISSF Science Advisory Committee. From 2007-2009, Dr. Restrepo was Chief of the Highly Migratory Species Division of the United States National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center.
“The Foundation’s respect for the role of science in creating sustainable tuna fisheries makes this a position I can be passionate about with demands I can be fully dedicated to,” Dr. Restrepo said. “The Committee’s independent status within ISSF means scientists can be scientists and the work we do isn’t influenced by outside interests.”
In his role as Chair of the Science Advisory Committee, Dr. Restrepo will also serve as a voting member on the ISSF Board of Directors.
It was also announced today that Dr. Meryl J. Williams will serve as Vice Chair of the ISSF Science Advisory Committee. Dr. Williams has also been a member of the ISSF Scientific Advisory Committee since its inception and is the founding Coordinator of the FishWatch-AsiaPacific Project of Asian Fisheries Society (AFS) and Honorary Life Member, AFS.
The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation is a global partnership among scientists, the tuna industry and WWF, the world’s leading conservation organization. ISSF’s mission is to undertake science-based initiatives for the long-term conservation and sustainable use of tuna stocks, reducing bycatch and promoting ecosystem health.