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Meet the VeriFish External Advisory Board: Expertise Driving Sustainable Seafood Forward

To accelerate its mission of transforming the seafood sector through verifiable sustainability indicators, the VeriFish project has launched its External Advisory Board (EAB). This diverse panel of experts from across Europe brings deep insight, independent perspectives, and strong stakeholder engagement to the project.

The 10-member board was carefully selected to reflect the complexity and interdisciplinary nature of sustainable seafood production and consumption. Their expertise ranges from fisheries science, aquaculture, and traceability systems to market analysis, policymaking, and civil society engagement.

Strategic Roles and Responsibilities

The EAB plays a pivotal role in ensuring VeriFish remains transparent, robust, and aligned with the needs of the seafood value chain. Their responsibilities include:

  • Guiding the development of Communities of Practice (CoPs) to ensure meaningful stakeholder involvement and feedback.
  • Validating the VeriFish indicator framework, providing insights from real-world experience and scientific best practices.
  • Shaping the project’s communication strategy by advising on media products, outreach materials, and public engagement.
  • Enhancing the visibility and reach of VeriFish by acting as ambassadors within their networks and professional communities.
VeriFish External Advisory Board. From top left corner and clockwise: Fabio Grati (, Richard Stavis, Pedro Reis Santos, Paul Bulcock, Andrea Fabris, Alessandro Manghisi, Anne Marie Cooper, David Bassett, Anton Ellenbroek and Irene Kranendonk.

Meet the Experts

Here are a few members of the VeriFish EAB and the experience they bring:

  • Francesco Grati (Italy) – A seasoned fishery biologist with over 30 years of experience, Francesco works with Italy’s National Research Council. He is a member of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) and has chaired working groups to establish sustainability indicators for fisheries productsF Grati.
  • Paul Bulcock (United Kingdom) – Aquaculture Information Manager at the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), Paul manages data systems like FishSource and contributes to aquaculture strategy development. He has extensive field experience in Southeast Asia and a strong academic background in aquaculture and marine zoologyPaul Bulcock.Bio.
  • Pedro Reis Santos (Portugal) – Based at the Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (MARE), Pedro is a marine biologist with expertise in marine conservation, governance, and sustainable seafood certification. He is also involved in science-policy interfaces at European and international levels.
  • Angela Fabris (Italy) – A senior sustainability expert and policy advisor in the seafood sector, Angela has worked with international organizations to bridge policy and practice in sustainable aquaculture, circular economy, and biodiversity.
  • Andy Cooper (United Kingdom) – With decades of experience in fisheries assessment and governance, Andy is a trusted voice in international marine certification schemes and sustainable seafood advisory bodies.
  • Irene Kranendonk (The Netherlands) – A veteran in seafood supply chain engagement, Irene works on sustainable sourcing, traceability, and corporate responsibility, particularly with retail and food service sectors.

Each member is committed to contributing their knowledge, networks, and strategic insight to help VeriFish develop science-based, accessible, and impactful tools for a sustainable seafood transition.

A Collaborative Path Ahead

The EAB will work closely with project partners across all work packages to ensure the development of indicators and communication tools are fit-for-purpose, inclusive, and aligned with the realities of the seafood sector.

Throughout 2025 and beyond, the EAB’s voice will be featured in articles, interviews, and campaign materials—including their contributions to the VeriFish “2 Questions, 6 Perspectives” campaign, blog posts, and policy dialogues.

We thank all EAB members for their engagement and look forward to this fruitful collaboration toward better seafood systems.

📬 Want to follow the work of the EAB and help shape the future of seafood sustainability?
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David Bassett

Employed by EATiP since 2017, David is responsible for the day-to-day management and direction of this European wide multi-actor ETP. 

Working in the aquaculture industry since 2005, including a decade as the executive of a UK producer association, he has been active in numerous projects from the sixth Framework Programme. Among other roles, David has served as a director of the Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum and served on the Technical Advisory Group of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC TAG) alongside being invited as a guest lecturer at the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling (UK).  

In addition to working on multiple Horizon Europe projects David is one of the Technical Experts assisting with the implementation of the EU Aquaculture Assistance Mechanism in addition to chairing the research focus group of the Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC) and sitting on the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research – Fish Committee (SCAR-Fish). 

For further information on EATiP please see www.eatip.eu 

Paul Bulcock

Paul Bulcock is responsible for developing and maintaining aquaculture information in SFP’s systems (e.g., FishSource, AIP Directory, Metrics). He also supports development and implementation of aquaculture strategy through research and analysis.

Paul has extensive program support and aquaculture research experience (particularly in Southeast Asia), having worked for the Network of Aquaculture Centers in Asia-Pacific (NACA) and DFID’s Aquaculture and Fish Genetics Research Programme (AFGRP) at the Institute of Aquaculture, in Stirling, UK. He has an MSc in aquaculture from the University of Stirling and a BSc in marine and fisheries zoology from the University of Aberdeen.

Paul is based in the UK, in Glasgow, Scotland.

Fabio Grati

A fishery biologist presently employed at the National Research Council, Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology (Ancona, Italy), he brings to the table more than thirty years of expertise in marine environmental conservation and sustainable resource management. Over the course of his career, he has overseen and participated in numerous international projects focused on understanding and mitigating anthropic impacts on marine ecosystems. Since 2019, he holds a membership in the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) under the European Commission. Within this role, he has chaired two STECF Expert Working Groups (EWG 22-12 and EWG 23-18), where he led efforts to establish scientifically robust yet accessible criteria and indicators for assessing the sustainability of fisheries products.

Andrea Fabris

Andrea Fabris born 11.08.1968, Italian, has a Veterinary Medicine full graduation achieved at the University of Parma. He has also a Specialization in “Farming, Hygiene, Pathology of Aquatic Species and Control of Derivative Products ” achieved at Udine University and a Specialization in “Animal Feeding” obtained at Bologna University.

Actually (from May 2016) he is Director of Associazione Piscicoltori Italiani (API – Italian Fish Farmers Association). At National level behalf of API he is member of some working groups at the General Direction for Fisheries and Aquaculture of Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Italian Ministry of Health regarding aquaculture EU rules and their implementation at national and regional level, and member of Exotic Species Aquaculture Committee – Italian Ministry of Agriculture. Lecturer on in training /courses organized by Ministry of Health, Universities and Local Veterinary Authorities; member of Board of Directors of SIPI (Italian Society of Fish Pathology).

He is also involved at international level with the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers (FEAP) as Chairman of FEAP Fish Health and Welfare Commission. Andrea is part of the FVE (Federation of Veterinarians Europe) Aquaculture Working Group, and of FishMedPlus Coalition, and from the beginning member of Aquaculture Advisory Council (AAC) where is actually Chair of WG1 – Finfish.

He published as an author or co-author about 30 articles on international and national scientific journals concerning Fish pathology and Aquaculture and more than 60 issues on divulgative (fishermen and aquaculture producers associations) publications

Anne Marie Cooper

Anne shapes global sustainable fisheries and aquaculture policies through her work at the science-policy interface. Driven by a commitment to improving human lives and aquatic ecosystems, she serves as the Professional Officer for Fisheries and Aquaculture Advice at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) in Copenhagen, Denmark. Anne leads ICES’ efforts in developing and applying methods to provide scientific advice on data-limited fish and shellfish stocks in the Northeast Atlantic, covering over 60% of ICES stocks. She also heads the development of ICES’
advisory framework for sustainable aquaculture. Before joining ICES, Anne advised on national fisheries, aquaculture, climate, and marine science policy in the US Senate, House of Representatives, and NOAA. She holds a Ph.D. in Conservation Biology and Development Studies and Social Change Theory and an M.Sc. in Fisheries Science from the University of Minnesota.

Pedro Reis Santos

Pedro Reis Santos is Secretary General of the Market Advisory Council (MAC), a stakeholder-led advisory body to the European Commission and to the Member States on matters relevant for the EU market of fishery and aquaculture products, as foreseen by the Common Fisheries Policy Regulation.

Before his appointment, in July 2019, as Secretary General, Mr Reis Santos worked as a consultant for a Brussels-based business intelligence service monitoring EU developments on fisheries, agriculture, food, animal welfare, alcohol and tobacco policy. Prior to that, he was a trainee at the Fisheries Unit of the Council of the European Union and a trainee at the Control Unit of the Portuguese Fisheries Authority.

Mr Reis Santos holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master’s degree in International Law and International Relations from the University of Lisbon with a thesis titled “Marine Protected Areas beyond National Jurisdiction”. Besides his first language, Portuguese, he speaks English and Spanish

Irene Kranendonk

Irene Kranendonk is the Impact Manager at Fish Tales and a board member of the Fish Tales Foundation. Her work focuses on developing and guiding Fish Tales’ sourcing criteria including management of the environmental and social certification schemes. With the Fish Tales Foundation and local partner organizations, she drives social and environmental improvements in small scale fisheries. Irene holds a master’s degree from Wageningen University in Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management and is specialized in the field of fisheries ecology. In a previous role, Irene was sustainable seafood assessor for the Dutch seafood rating scheme the VISwijzer.