Press release: New appointments to the Seafish board

A new deputy chair, industry representative member, and independent member have been appointed to the board of the Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish).

Seafish is an industry-levy funded body which carries out a wide range of activities that advocate and support all sections of the fishing industry, from fishermen and processors through to importers, retailers and food service providers.

Michael Sheldon has been appointed as Deputy Chair and brings with him extensive experience of the agri-food industry following a career in the pork sector and membership of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).

James Buchan will represent the large-scale fishing sector, contributing his wide-ranging knowledge of the Scottish Seafood Sector and experience as a fisherman and vessel skipper-owner.

Linda Rosborough has been appointed as an independent member of the Seafish Board and brings with her longstanding experience as a civil servant, most recently as director of Marine Scotland,

These are ministerial appointments supported by the four fisheries administrations, who jointly sponsor Seafish.

The recruitment was carried out in accordance with the Ministerial Code of Practice for Appointments to Public Bodies. All appointments are made on merit and political activity plays no part in the selection process. However, there is a requirement for the political activities of appointees to be made public. Neither Michael Sheldon, James Buchan nor Linda Rosborough have declared any significant activity.

Biographical details:

Michael Sheldon is a member of AHDB, where he chairs the Pork Sector Board and sits on the Remuneration and Nominations Committee. Since 2012 he has also served as non-executive director to Assured Food Standards Ltd. His career has principally been in the pork sector: for 16 years he ran his own farming company and was founding Chief Executive of the National Pig Association.

James Buchan is CEO of the Scottish Seafood Association which is a national representative body for Scottish seafood processors. In addition, he is the founder and managing director of Amity Fish Company and Skippers Choice, both seafood suppliers. From 1989 to 2016 he was director of the Scottish Fishermen’s Organisation and from 2007 its chairman. He has sat on numerous boards and committees including: Seafish Shellfish Advisory Committee and the Peterhead Port Authority board. James began his career as a fisherman which continued as a skipper-owner until 2016.

Linda Rosborough was a civil servant from 1991, following a career as an academic in planning and environmental studies. From 2011 to 2016 she was Director of Marine Scotland before which she headed the Marine Planning and Policy, Transformational Technologies, CAP Management, and Social Inclusion Divisions of the Scottish Government and also worked for several years for the Northern Ireland Office. She is currently chair of the Scottish Wildlife Trust.