2024 Wild Alaska Pollock Annual Meeting

Bob Desautel

GAPP Board of Directors Chairman

Bob Desautel is co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Global Seas and Nina Fisheries, Inc. In 1994, he co-founded Nina Fisheries, a business that later developed internationally as it extended to Chile and Argentina in 1998. In 2001, Bob co founded Global Seas, a subsidiary of Nina Fisheries, that quickly became one of the West Coast’s premier vessel management companies. Under Bob’s direction, Global Seas’ expanded its business enterprise to the East Coast and ventured into the maritime research field in 2002.

In 1978, while studying business at the University of Nevada, Bob began his career as a deckhand fishing in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. In 1980, he advanced to the role of Captain and operated various fishing vessels. Bob possesses a United States Coast Guard (issue no.7) Masters 3000 ITC License. In 2002, he retired from the ocean to focus on the expansion of Global Seas.

Bob has served as President and Member of the Board of the North Pacific Fishing Vessel Owners’ Association, advocating safety education for the commercial fishing industry by providing information about USCG requirements, OSHA compliance standards, MARPOL, hands-on training programs, and safety seminars and workshops. In 1993, Bob co-founded United Catcher Boats, served as a Member of the Board and later as Vice President, all the while promoting the organization’s importance to the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and West Coast fisheries. His efforts serving on these Boards, as well as his involvement in other various organizations, have both improved safety and created efficiencies in the commercial fishing and maritime industries.

Currently, Bob is on the board of the directors with the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) and United Boat Catchers (UBC). His involvement with GAPP and the fishing industry is to promote, elevate and expand Wild Caught Alaskan Pollock’s profile to tablecloth restaurants and grocery stores across North America.

Craig Morris

GAPP CEO

Dr. Craig Morris is GAPP’s exuberant CEO. He’s been a lifelong passionate advocate and ambassador for the U.S. food and agriculture industry and has dedicated his entire professional career to advancing the interests of various U.S. agricultural commodities. He’s done it all, from pork to beef to poultry and everything in between working for the National Pork Board (NPB), United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service and Future Beef Operations, LLC, to name a few. Craig received his Bachelor of Science degree with a distinction in Animal Science from Iowa State University and served as a regent’s graduate fellow while earning his Doctorate in Animal Science from Texas A&M University.

Ron Rogness

GAPP Director, Industry Relations, Partnerships & Fishery Analysis

Ron Rogness joins GAPP as Director of Industry Relations, Partnerships and Fishery Analysis. Ron Rogness previously served as an economic advisor to the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers. Prior to this role, he was Vice President of Sustainability and Corporate Relations for American Seafoods Group in Seattle, Washington. Ron also spent eleven years in seafood purchasing for Long John Silver’s Restaurants and then, after LJS was purchased by Yum! Brands, served seven years in seafood purchasing and government affairs for the Unified Foodservice Purchasing Cooperative, the exclusive supply chain manager for Yum! Brands U.S. restaurants. Ron started his career in the seafood industry in 1980 as a commercial fisherman, first in Washington State and later Alaska. After graduate work in fisheries economics at University of Alaska, he served as staff economist for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Anchorage Alaska. Following three years with the Council, Ron spent five years as staff economist and West Coast Government Relations Representative at the National Fisheries Institute.