Paris and Seafood Summit 2010! - Seafood Choices Alliance

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DR. REBECCA LENT – Director of Office of International Affairs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association
(NOAA) (United States)
PANEL: The Role of Governments and Governmental Organisations in Seafood Sector Sustainability
Dr. Rebecca Lent has served since July 2005 as director of the NOAA Office of International Affairs, an office newly created at
the time due to the increasing importance of international fisheries issues. She had been deputy assistant administrator for
regulatory programs at NOAA Fisheries, a position she had held since 2001. In that capacity, Rebecca reviewed all NOAA
Fisheries’ proposed regulatory actions, including those to support protected resources, sustainable fisheries, and habitat
conservation in both the national and international arenas.
Rebecca joined NOAA in 1992, serving as the economist for and later chief of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species
Management Division. She has broad experience in dealing with a wide variety of controversial fishery management issues affecting
fishermen, conservationists, business, and communities. Rebecca was appointed Southwest Regional Administrator for NOAA in
2000 and in this capacity directed the agency’s fisheries management and science programs in the south western United States,
Hawaii, and the U.S. Trust Territories.
She earned her Ph.D. in resource economics from Oregon State University in 1984 and holds a master’s degree in economics
(1978) and a bachelor’s degree (1975).
GEORGE LEONARD – Director of the Aquaculture Programme, Ocean Conservancy
PANEL: Regulating for Sustainability: Emerging Aquaculture Management Challenges and Regulatory Solutions
George Leonard is the Director of Ocean Conservancy’s Aquaculture Programme where he works to ensure that U.S. aquaculture
develops under strong environmental standards. In particular, his work is currently focused on legislative and regulatory activities
surrounding the development of open ocean aquaculture in state and federal waters. From 2002 to 2007, he was the Senior Science
Manager for Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program where he was responsible for overseeing the research and analysis
of capture fisheries and aquaculture practices related to the development of sustainability recommendations for the public and
businesses. These recommendations were presented in the form of regional, wallet-sized pocket guides for consumers as well as
sourcing guidance for major seafood buyers. George holds a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Brown University
and a M.S. in Marine Science from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. Before joining Seafood Watch in early 2002, he was the
Program Manager for COMPASS (the Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea) where he helped communicate
emerging marine conservation science to policymakers, NGOs and resource managers.
RICH LINCOLN – Director, State of Salmon
PANEL: Asian Salmon: The next generation of certified salmon fisheries
Rich directs the State of the Salmon, a program that builds knowledge across borders, linking a greater understanding of Pacific
salmon to their improved management and conservation. Rich has 33 years of varied experience in fisheries research, management,
and policy in the Pacific Northwest as well as working on global fisheries sustainability. A graduate of the University of Michigan, a
central focus of his career has been promoting the use of best available science in sound resource management decision-making.
Prior to joining the State of the Salmon, Rich was International Policy Director with the Marine Stewardship Council in London,
UK. Other past roles have included bi-lateral chair of the Pacific Salmon Commission's Fraser Panel under the U.S.-Canada
Salmon Treaty, leading development of Washington State's Wild Salmonid Policy and Wild Stock Initiative, and developing
cooperative management arrangements with Northwest treaty Indian tribes. Rich has a strong history of involvement and
leadership in salmonid research program's including hatchery supplementation, freshwater productivity evaluation, and
development and application of salmonid stock identification techniques to improved fishery management.
DAVID LITTLE – Professor, University of Stirling
PANEL: Sustainability (Point –Counter Point): What Makes a Product “Sustainable”?
PANEL: Communicating Sustainability: Coping with Consumer Confusion
Dave Little is a Professor of Aquatic Resource Development at the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Scotland. Based
within the Development and Environment Group, he has over thirty years’ experience in tropical aquaculture. His major research
interest is the parallel models for aquaculture in development evolving in Asia and their impacts on the poor. He has published
widely and worked in post-graduate education and research based in Asia. He has co-ordinated several research projects between
the University of Stirling and a range of partners in South and Southeast Asia, with both UK-DFID and EU funding. He
coordinates the EU-funded FP7 project ‘Sustaining Ethical Aquatic Trade’ (SEAT) working with 14 partners in Europe and Asia to
research the burgeoning trade in seafood between the continents.