Red Lobster’s Horace Dawson joins GSA board of directors

Dawson came to Red Lobster from Hard Rock Cafe International, where he was the company’s first in-house attorney. Previously, he worked for Telemundo Network. He is a graduate of Harvard University, where he received his undergraduate, law and masters of business administration degrees.

“I am very much looking forward to working with everyone on the GSA board to help seafood-relates industries in providing assurances of a sustainable and responsibly sourced seafood supply,” Dawson stated.

The GSA is a non-profit organization launched in April 2018 and created by the Global Aquaculture Alliance. The group says it aims to provide quality assurance for all seafood, farmed or wild, by creating standards where gaps exist, working with other standard holders where possible, and collaborating to build robust traceability for all.

The GSA said it currently focusing on filling the gaps in assurance. Version 2 of the Seafish Responsible Fishing Scheme (RFS) standards, which are designed to address labor conditions aboard fishing vessels, are in development, and GSA will take over the standards from Seafish in May 2020. Also in the works are the Seafood Processing Standards for both wild and farmed seafood, which are currently being piloted and will soon be put to market, the organization stated.

“Horace Dawson’s involvement with global seafood restaurant operations brings an exceptional level of expertise to the GSA board,” stated GSA executive director Wally Stevens. “He, along with the recently announced board members Ally Dingwall of Sainsbury’s and Marcus Coleman of Seafish, provide for excellent representation of both the marketplace and fisheries stakeholders.”