Mr David Jarrad

Chief Executive

David started his career at a shellfish farm on the River Exe in South Devon in the early 1980’s having studied fish farming and fisheries management at Sparsholt Agricultural College, Hampshire.

During these 25+ years he was Managing Director of River Exe Shellfish Farms producing Pacific Oysters and Mussels within the fertile waters of the Exe estuary, South Devon. He closed the business to concentrate on SAGB matters in 2015.

Having been a member of the association since 1989, a past chairman of the Mollusc Committee, he joined the SAGB Council in 1994. He has also been a Ministerial appointee on the Devon Sea Fisheries Committee and has worked extensively with Seafish.

He was appointed Assistant Director of the SAGB in the Spring of 2008 and became Director in the Summer of 2011.

Currently Position Unfilled

Office Manager

After graduating in Hungary, she moved to London to start her career. In the early years she was working in varied roles as a Customer Service Assistant at market leading companies, she then went on to become a Deputy Manager for William Hill, Soho, Central London.

After years of ‘back office’ administration, she moved on to ‘front of house’ Office Administration in varied roles where she gained further professional skills working at Across the Oceans Imports Ltd, a specialist food import company, and most recently The Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, a London based trade association (with in excess of 3000 members), where she was Membership Administrator.

Mr Mike Mitchell

The President

Mike Mitchell has worked in the seafood industry since 1981. Until October 2015 he was a Legal Director and member of the Operating Board of the UK’s largest seafood manufacturing business, Young’s Seafood Limited.

Mike is founder of the seafood consultancy business Fair Seas Limited - he continues to advise Young’s and represent their interests as a member of the Seafood Industry Alliance trade federation. Mike also works with a number of retailer and seafood agency clients, and is a member of the Defra Seafood Expert Group, co-chair of the Defra cross-sectoral working group and a new appointee to the Board of Seafish,

Mr Jeremy Simmonds RD, BA(Oxon)

Vice President

Jeremy qualified as a solicitor in 1967 and practised in London until he retired from 2000. Jeremy became a member of the Association in 1975 and used his legal knowledge to brief speakers of all political persuasions for a day-long debate on the law affecting fish farming in the House of Lords in 1976.

In the 1980s Jeremy worked with Eric Edwards (the Director) on the damage caused to the shellfish industry by anti-fouling paints containing tributyl tin (TBT) until a ban was brought in. Jeremy was elected to the SAGB Council in 1988 and in 2008 was elected to succeed Maldwin Drummond OBE as President of the Association.

Dr. Clive Askew

Vice President

Dr. Clive Askew was Deputy Director of the Association until his retirement in 2008. He has wide experience of oyster, mussel and clam cultivation and has worked both in the UK and many places around the World, but especially in NW Spain, where he ran an oyster hatchery. He was one of the founding members of the European Mollusc Producers Association EMPA.

In recent years he made a special study of global evidence for the health benefits of seafood consumption, reminding people of the historic importance of shellfish in the diet and dismissing the old idea that shellfish raise cholesterol levels. He continues with that campaign and other shellfish matters as a consultant.

Dr Peter Hunt

Vice President

Peter has nearly 40 years practical experience in fisheries management.

His career includes posts as Fisheries Scientist for the New Zealand Government, managing a major freshwater fishery basin in the United Kingdom, thirteen years in Fiji as Director of Fisheries and Managing Director of the State owned fishing Company and tuna canning plant, Pacific Fishing Company Limited (1977-1989), followed by twelve years as Managing Director of Royal Greenland Limited. Peter was previously the Director of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain from 2000 to 2009, and is now retired.

Mr Chris Leftwich

The Chairman

Originally, I trained as an environmental health officer and have specialised in all areas of food control for nearly 40 years, but for over 30 of those years my expertise has been within the seafood sector.

From May1985 until my retirement in February 2016 I was the Chief Inspector to the Fishmongers’ Company in London. In that capacity I was responsible for the quality control of seafood sold at London’s world-famous Billingsgate Fish Market. During that time I founded the Billingsgate Seafood Training School which runs courses for the industry, public and schoolchildren covering all aspects of seafood inspection, control, processing and cooking, and I am still a trustee of the school. I am also a trustee of the UK Associates of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Science.

I am a past president and currently executive board member of the International Association of Fish Inspectors. This is a world-wide organisation which, among other things, organises the World Seafood Conference which takes place every two years in different countries around the world.

I have undertaken many consultancies both domestically and abroad for organisations such as the Food Standards Agency, the EU, the United Nations and others to help train inspectors and to set up quality control systems. I assumed the role of chairman of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain in May 2017.

Mr Alastair Salvesen CBE

The Deputy Chairman

Alastair Salvesen CBE joined Dawnfresh Seafoods Ltd in 1980 and is the Chairman of that company and RR Spinks & Sons Ltd and Daniel’s Sweet Herring Ltd.

He is also a Director of the Edinburgh New Town Cookery School Ltd, Deputy Chairman of the Fettes Trust, and a Director of Archangel Informal Investments and of Dovecot Studios Ltd, one of the world’s leading contemporary tapestry studios established in 1912.

A past President of the British Frozen Food Federation and Royal Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland, Alastair has also served as Chairman of the Shellfish Committee of the UK Association of Frozen Food Producers, and has been a member of SAGB for many years and is currently Deputy Chairman.

He was elected a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers in 2001.