Governance
WSO Board of Directors for Friend of the Sea
The Board of Directors is the top governing body. Taking into account the inputs received from the Technical Committee and Stakeholders, the Advisory Board provides to the Board of Directors the most useful strategies to reach Friend of the Sea project objectives. Currently, the Board of Directors is composed of two members: a Director and a President.
WSO Advisory Board for Friend of the Sea
The Advisory Board is composed of at least four members, selected every two years by the Board of Directors.
The Advisory Board provides non-binding strategic advice to the Board of Directors. It guides the continuous quality improvement process and it evaluates the effectiveness of the programme. In addition, it elects the members of theTechnical Committee and it provides opinion on received complaints, objections and inputs.
WSO Technical Committee for Friend of the Sea
The Technical Committee is the technical body and is composed of 14 to 21 members, who are elected every three years by the Advisory Board through CV analysis (upon request or spontaneously received). Technical Committee representatives come from all continents and the following areas of activity: Seafood Industry, Distribution/Retail, Government, Certification Bodies, NGOs, Educational and Media.
Operating in total independence from Friend of the Sea, the Technical Committee has a key role in the development and revision of the seafood standards and collaborates by sending comments and voting on the content of the seafood standards.
WSO’s Governance procedures and policies for Friend of the Sea
WSO’s Board performance review for Friend of the Sea
WSO’s Governance
WSO’s Funding and Finances for Friend of the Sea
Stakeholders’ participation
1) Stakeholders can provide their input to our Standards.
We encourage all categories of stakeholders to share their inputs through the Stakeholder Input Form, at any time, on how standards are working and how to improve them. The full guidance is available in the Stakeholder Input Procedure.
A wide range of stakeholders is invited to participate in the public consultations on our Standards. If you are interested in being a part of the stakeholders notified at the beginning of our revision processes, please, send an email to info@friendofthesea.org.
2) Stakeholders can provide their input to the audits by filing comments and/or objections.
Individuals, companies and organizations can send objections regarding companies to be audited by filling in the Objections Form. Friend of the Sea can accept only objections supported by evidence and received at least 15 working days in advance of the planned audit. Once confirmed, the auditor in charge must take the objection into account when visiting the company, including when making the certification decision. The full guidance is available in the Objections Procedure.
3) Stakeholders can register complaints about Friend of the Sea’s activities.
Stakeholders can complain at any time about Friend of the Sea’s governance, scheme management, executive functions and standard-setting process by filling in the Complaints and Appeals Form. Complaints about certified companies and accredited certification bodies, including their assessment and certification decisions in relation to the standards in force at the time of the audit, shall initially be addressed to the certification bodies following their respective complaints procedures. If the relevant certification body was unable to satisfactorily address the complaints and appeals of non-compliances, these can be submitted to Friend of the Sea. The full guidance is available in the Complaints and Appeals Procedure . A list of Previous and Pending Complaints is available online.
Scientific Committee
The Scientific Committee is our scientific body and is composed of 5 to 11 members, who are elected every two years by the Friend of the Sea Scientific and Technical department through CV analysis (upon request or spontaneously received). Scientific Committee representatives come from all the continents and are experts on cetaceans.
The Scientific Committee has a key role in the development and revision of our dolphin and whale watching standards and collaborates by sending comments and voting on the content of our dolphin and whale watching standards and by giving inputs and suggestions on strategic decisions for the development of the projects.