Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) today announced the appointment of Howard M. Johnson to the organization’s Board of Directors effective the end of 2012. Mr. Johnson will retire from active staff work at SFP, where he has served as Director of Global Programs.Johnson has been with SFP since its founding as a non-profit organization in 2006. 

Prior to joining SFP, Johnson was President of H.M. Johnson and Associates, a leading seafood industry research and analysis firm he founded in 1984.   Johnson’s seafood career spans some 40+ years, including involvement in a wide variety of activities including seafood procurement in Southeast Asia and aquaculture development in the United States, Mexico, Chile, and Brazil.  He also founded and published the Annual Report on the United States Seafood Industry, a respected information source, for 18 years.  Johnson remarked, “Back in 2005, when Jim Cannon shared his vision for an NGO that engages the seafood supply chain in supporting fishery and aquaculture improvement, I saw it as the perfect opportunity for closing out a 40+-year career by helping develop programs and strategies to promote responsible and sustainable seafood production.”

“Howard’s involvement with and commitment to SFP is a major reason why the organization was able to successfully engage a broad section of the seafood industry in sustainability from the start,” said Jim Cannon, CEO of SFP.  “We will miss his involvement in our everyday work, but we know he will provide excellent leadership from his new board position.”

“I leave active SFP staff work in good hands,” Johnson added.  “We have a highly talented and dedicated team around the world committed to our mission and I am proud to have been a part of it. Having laid the foundation for supply chain involvement in sustainable seafood procurement, it is now critical for industry to take the lead in ensuring that we can continue to increase seafood production, providing food and livelihoods well into the future.”  Johnson also thanked the foundations and corporate partners who have supported SFP’s work.

At its recent Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, Johnson was presented with The Howard M. Johnson SFP Leadership Award, as the first recipient.  Named in his honor, the award states:  “This award, inaugurated in 2012 and to be given annually, honors individuals who mirror your integrity and character and exemplify the leadership and innovation that you have contributed to SFP over your many years with us.”