News
Sukarrieta, 16 December 2025 — The International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), one of the most influential global organizations in tuna fishery sustainability, has announced the appointment of new members to its Board of Directors. Among them is Josu Santiago, who has spent the majority of his professional career as head of the Tuna Fisheries Management Area at AZTI, and whose appointment strengthens Spanish scientific representation in international tuna governance.
ISSF has also added two new experts to its Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC)—French economist Patrice Guillotreau and researcher Graham M. Pilling—further strengthening the multidisciplinary foundation that underpins its global scientific recommendations.
According to ISSF’s official announcement earlier this morning, the new members—including Josu Santiago—bring scientific, economic and management expertise that reinforces the multidisciplinary base needed to move towards more sustainable fisheries. In Santiago’s case, his appointment recognises a professional career of more than thirty years devoted to stock assessment, tuna biology and international fisheries governance, positioning him as a key figure within the global scientific community.
His work in regional fisheries management organisations such as the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) has helped bring the best available science into decision-making processes that affect the future of tuna populations across several oceans.
Following his appointment, Santiago highlighted the value of this international forum: “ISSF brings together research, the fishing sector, administrations and environmental organisations in a unique working model. This new role is an opportunity to continue contributing—drawing on the experience accumulated throughout my professional career—to advancing the global sustainability of tuna fisheries.”
Santiago’s appointment to the ISSF Board of Directors adds to AZTI’s strong presence in the scientific forums where the future of global fisheries is shaped. The centre plays an active role in the main international scientific committees, including the European Commission’s Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), the Advisory Committee of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the scientific groups of regional tuna fisheries management organisations, and numerous specialised working groups on genetics, stock assessment, socioeconomics, ecosystem resilience and emerging technologies applied to fisheries management.
This presence, built up and consolidated over decades, demonstrates that AZTI delivers high-level science directly in the arenas where conservation strategies are defined, stocks are assessed, and management measures affecting fleets and ecosystems worldwide are agreed upon.
In a context of climate change, ocean variability and increasing pressure on marine resources, participation in organisations such as ISSF and the sustained presence of AZTI staff in international committees reinforce the centre’s mission: to contribute to sustainable, fair and resilient fisheries through excellent applied science.