Dr. Toru Tsuzaki

Toru has over 10 years’ experience in fisheries science, devoting most of his attention to the improving and mitigation of migratory freshwater fish species through rivers in the UK and abroad, such as Sweden, Brazil and Chile. He was also a Police officer for Hampshire Constabulary for 7 years finishing as a Detective Constable.

Toru completed his degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology in 2002 before completing a PhD specializing in coastal engineering and improving coastal habitats through the better understanding of salt marsh and coastal mudflats ecosystems.

He joined Control Union in 2018, to be the scheme manager for one of the well-recognised standards in wild capture fisheries, Marine Stewardship Council, where he led the certifications team to develop a global portfolio of certified fisheries well over 70 certificates ranging from small scale artisanal fisheries to industrial fleets. His responsibilities grew to diversify the fisheries certification portfolio to include other fisheries standards such as Naturland -Wild Capture fisheries, Fairtrade USA, and ASC/MSC Seaweed.

Beyond this, Toru has broadened his remit in certifications to develop and manage other products and services. Such as reduction or elimination of plastics (PlasticFree), verifying biofuel certifications (RTFO, ISCC), food safety standards (BRC, RSPO, RFA) and social responsibility (ETI, SMETA).

Toru is now part of the Control Union UK Senior leadership team becoming Director in 2023, overseeing the certification programmes.