Stefán Ásmundsson

Stefán Ásmundsson is Special Advisor on Ocean Affairs and Fisheries at the Icelandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He is well known in international circles regarding fisheries, ocean affairs and law of the sea after being a prominent participant in many different international fora for twenty-five years. He holds an LLM in International Law and International Relations, where he specialised in the international legal regime for fisheries.

An important part of Mr Ásmundsson’s work has been in relation to Regional Fisheries Management Organisations (RFMOs). His role has been most prominent in NEAFC, where in addition to representing Iceland he has also served as President (2007-2009) and Executive Secretary (2011-2017). Mr Ásmundsson has also been an active participant in organisations including NAFO and ICCAT and in coastal State consultations. During 2009-2011 he worked for the European Commission on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy.

At the global level, Mr Ásmundsson is the Chair of the recently established FAO Sub-Committee on Fisheries Management. He is Iceland’s Head of Delegation at FAO COFI and has been an active participant in several FAO Technical Consultations and expert workshops, including as Chair, and was Chair of the FAO-organised Regional Fisheries Bodies’ Secretariat Network. Mr Ásmundsson has also worked with a number of other global bodies, including UNEP, DOALOS and CBD. He has been Co-Chair of the CBD-organised Sustainable Ocean Initiative – Global Dialogue since its inception.