2026 Year
American Shrimp Processors Association (“ASPA” and/or the “Association”) obtained, at substantial cost, from Responsible Fisheries Management (“RFM”), which entity has recently merged with, and is now a part of Certified Seafood International (“CSI”), with such merger resulting in such certification being a part of a more expanded global focus and wider range of acceptability of such sustainability certification. Since ASPA funded, individually, acquisition of such RFM certification, entities or other third parties must obtain ASPA’s approval for utilization of such certification.
Dues paying members of ASPA are authorized to use such RFM sustainability certification (herein the “Fisheries Certification” and/or the RFM Certification”), subject to payment of a sliding scale annual fee, with such paid fees being escrowed by ASPA to pay for annual renewals of such Fisheries Certification (whether through RFM, CSI or other such entity). ASPA members (voting members, associate members, vendor members or other member status) need only to pay the appropriate “Fisheries Certification Fee” (the “Fee”), which is a sliding scale fee for processors and a flat fee for other proposed members of the authorized “Client Group” of persons/entities authorized to utilize ASPA’s RFM Fisheries Certification. The annual fees, for utilization of such Fisheries Certification, have been set by ASPA’s Board in amounts anticipated to simply cover the costs of the studies and services, to be provided by CSI, to insure such sustainability certification remains available for all participating interested parties.
Application Process
In order to request inclusion within the approved “Client Group”, defined as parties authorized to utilize the RFM Fisheries Sustainability Certification, an applicant, that is NOT currently an ASPA member, must provide a written request to ASPA, forwarded to the attention of Trey Pearson, President of the ASPA Board, requesting inclusion within the Client Group. Pearson’s email address is treypjbs@aol.com. Upon receipt of such request, ASPA has ten (10) business days to reply to the inquiring party.
If the request is accepted, such applicant, to include existing ASPA members, must then submit to ASPA (through Pearson) or to ASPA’s counsel to either James Wimberley, Legal Counsel, at jim@jwimberley.com or Misti Bell at misti@jwimberley.com, the following information:
- Copy of the applicant’s original request to join the approved “Client Group”;
- CSI Chain of Custody information in a form acceptable to CSI (which information may also be provided to CSI to the attention of megan.westmeyer@sustainablefish.com;
- For NON-ASPA Members only, an application to be an associate member of ASPA, with clarification of appropriate requested associate member status (i.e., processor, dock operator, harvester, wholesaler, vendor, etc.), together with a check for the appropriate associate member fee;
- As to processors only, such reasonably requested processing operations background information necessary to allow ASPA to accurately determine (a) the appropriate ASPA associated membership fee and (b) the appropriate sliding scale fee for utilization the RFM Certification for the relevant calendar year;
- In the event your final application is approved for incusion within the Client Group authorized to utilize the Fisheries Certification, such authorization will not become effective until your annual RFM Certification fee is paid to ASPA, after which such applicant shall be considered a member of the Client Group only for the relevant Calendar year for which such request is based.
If you have any questions, please contact either the following Board members: Trey Pearson, treypjbs@aol.com or 409-719-7090; Dominick Ficorino, dominick@dominicks-seafood.com or 251-454-7816, or you may contact ASPA’s counsel, James Wimberley, at jim@jwimberley.com or at 409-853-4095. Inquiries may also be made to Megan Westmeyer, Director of Supply Chain Roundtables of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, although Ms. Westmeyer does not have authority to act on behalf of ASPA as to approvals of pending request for Client Group inclusion.