Fish & Seafood

NFI Crab Council Installs Brice Phillips as Chairman

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Brice Phillips, director of club store sales at Phillips Foods, has been elected chairman of the McLean, Virginia, USA-headquartered National Fisheries Institute’s (NFI) Crab Council.

Founded in 2009, the Council finances global blue swimming crab sustainability work through contributions from participating companies and grants from the World Bank, the Walton Family Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Seafood Industry Research Fund. The collaboration funds and operates fisheries improvement projects in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and India.

“It is a pleasure to welcome Brice Phillips into this new role,” said Ed Rhodes, executive director of the NFI Crab Council. “Brice has an infectious energy and emphasis on the future of the fishery. His vision starts with five and ten-year considerations, not just the status of the stocks tomorrow and the next day. We look forward to his leadership.”

NFI Crab Council members collectively represent around 85% of the total Blue Swimming Crab imported into the United States. These companies have invested in their industry’s future by pledging resources, commitment and funding to the future of crab. The Council promotes a balance of business and harvest by adopting sourcing policies while funding projects that benefit the resource and communities where they are active.

“The NFI Crab Council is one of the most successful pre-competitive collaborations in seafood,” said Phillips. “It has a storied past and a bright future. That may involve new policies, new focuses, new investments and new partnerships. Whatever the next chapters bring, they will certainly involve committed companies that are willing to put crab sustainability first. I am excited to work with partners who are dedicated to this mission.”