New partnership will cover each Council funded Fisheries Improvement Project

February 6, 2024 Reston, VA — The National Fisheries Institute’s (NFI) Crab Council

announces it will be partnering with Ocean Outcomes (O2) to fill the group’s Sustainability

Envoy position. The partnership with O2 will help ensure the Council’s Fishery Improvement

Projects (FIPs) are making significant progress in meeting Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)

standards.

“We approached hiring a new Envoy in a fairly traditional manner,” said the Council’s Executive

Director Ed Rhodes. “We interviewed a number of highly qualified candidates but ended up

gravitating towards the idea of having the O2 team take on the role. It’s a departure from the way

we’ve done things in the past, but we’re excited to be partnering with them. They’ve got a

proven track record in the sustainability space and are no stranger to the crab world.”

The position was most recently filled by the late Dr. Abdul Ghofar, an accomplished fisheries

biologist and a well-known crab sustainability expert.

“We work with stakeholders to design and implement science-based initiatives that drive

sustainability,” said O2’s Executive Director, Rich Lincoln, “The NFI Crab Council has been

doing just that for nearly a decade and a half. This collaboration makes perfect sense and we’re

excited to contribute our network learning and capacity support to their projects and partners to

help deliver sustainability outcomes.”

The Envoy position is responsible for helping in-country partners execute on the formulation,

implementation, administration, and reporting of crab sustainability projects that are funded by

the Crab Council and to ensure that these projects align with the goals of the Council.

“We are pleased the Council decided to partner with us to advance their FIPs,” said Dr. Jocelyn

Drugan, O2’s Analytics Team Director and Senior Fisheries Scientist. “We have a diverse FIP

portfolio, including existing work with the Council, and we are excited to grow that portfolio and

help FIP managers in each country to not only consistently collect and report data but also share

successes and best practices.”

The Crab Council currently supports FIPs in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam,

India, and Sri Lanka. Effective immediately, O2 will begin interfacing and coordinating with in-

country partners, non-governmental organizations, and regulators in an effort to advance these

sustainability projects.

Since 2009, the NFI Crab Council has practiced industry-led stewardship, addressing fishery

needs through scientific, social, and financial channels. Learn more at committedtocrab.org.