The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) has added Dr Transform Aqorau to its board of directors.
With a career in Pacific fisheries spanning more than two decades, he was most recently Chief Executive Officer of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA).
Dr Aqorau was instrumental in the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between ISSF and PNA, establishing a framework for cooperation between the two organizations.
Susan Jackson, ISSF president, said: “Dr Aqorau has been a long-time and persistent champion for the Pacific region, working with diverse stakeholders to improve the conservation and sustainable use of tuna resources in the Western and Central Pacific, which are vitally important to the region.”
She added: “It is this long history of multi-sector collaboration – as well as his deep policy knowledge – that make Dr Aqorau such a meaningful addition to the ISSF Board. We are thrilled to have him.”
Dr Aqorau began his career as a legal officer in the Solomon Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Subsequent roles included legal advisor of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat based in Fiji as well as legal officer, legal counsel and deputy director of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency based in Solomon Islands
He has authored many journal articles and newspaper commentaries and hosted international seminars and conferences on fisheries and related topics.
“I hope to share our unique interests and experiences with ISSF, including with those participating companies that have global operations,” Dr Aqorau said.
“Pacific Island countries play a major role in managing complex tuna fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific. I look forward to lending this expertise to ISSF’s global efforts toward sustainable tuna fisheries management,” he concluded.
