The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF) announced today that Dr. Vishwanie Maharaj, the lead for tunas and other multilateral fisheries at World Wildlife Fund (WWF-US), is appointed to its Environmental Stakeholder Committee (ESC).
“Dr. Maharaj is a strong addition to our already deep bench of conservation and scientific experts on the ESC,” said ISSF President Susan Jackson. “She comes to the committee with more than 20 years of experience navigating the fishery policy issues we deal with every day. Her experience and understanding of Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMOs) and projects like the Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction Program (ABNJ) will be indispensable as we continue to push for policies that promote the long-term sustainability of tuna stocks.”
Our new Environmental Stakeholder Committee member Dr. Vishwanie Maharaj has more than 20 years of experience in #fishery and #environmental #policy issues. Click To TweetDr. Vishwanie Maharaj is an economist with more than 20 years of experience working on fishery and environmental policy issues through research and engagement of the seafood industry, regional management bodies and non-governmental organizations. Dr. Maharaj is currently the lead for tunas and other multilateral fisheries at WWF-US. In this capacity, she works in close coordination with global and regional leads on overall tuna policy and with markets teams on engaging major retailers to drive sustainable sourcing of tuna products. Her more recent work focused on engagement in the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Bank ABNJ projects, using market incentives to reform Indonesian tuna fisheries and work to address overcapacity and improve business performance in the Eastern Pacific tropical tuna fisheries. Prior to her work at WWF, Dr. Maharaj held senior positions at the Environmental Defense Fund, South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council and a trade association. She holds a doctoral degree in marine resource economics from the University of Rhode Island and an undergraduate degree in oceanography from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom.
About the ISSF Environmental Stakeholder Committee
The ESC comprises expert representatives from various conservation bodies who volunteer to share their expertise. The ESC, as does ISSF’s Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), provides advice to the ISSF Board of Directors on issues to consider before taking action on specific sustainability efforts, including regarding ISSF conservation measures.
The ESC Board members are:
- Sonja Fordham, Shark Advocates International
- Dr. Eric Gilman, The Nature Conservancy
- Bill Holden, Chair, ISSF Environmental Stakeholder Committee | Senior Tuna Fisheries Outreach Manager, Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
- Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly, Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch
- Sara Lewis, FishWise
- Dr. Vishwanie Maharaj, World Wildlife Fund-US
- Dr. Alexia Morgan, Science Lead for Tuna and Large Pelagic Species, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP)
- Dr. Tom Pickerell, Global Tuna Alliance
