New President and Vice-president elected at General Assembly

The annual General Assembly of EFFOP was held on the June 9, 2026.

The sitting president, Odd Eliasen, stepped down after two years as president, and Johannes von Holten (Germany) was elected as the new president.

Odd Eliasen thanked the members and reflected on his time in the role:

“I am proud of what we have achieved together the last two years. I would like to thank all EFFOP members, associated members – new and old – the Board for their trust. I am happy to leave the presidency of our organisation in the good hands of Johannes von Holten, to continue the fruitful cooperation within EFFOP and to promote that our industry is the key to European circular blue growth”.

As Johannes von Holten accepted the presidential role, Heiðmar Guðmundsson (Iceland) was elected as the new Vice President.

The board is now as follows:

• Johannes von Holten, Germany (President)
• Heiðmar Guðmundsson, Iceland (Vice-President)
• Odd Eliasen, Faroe Islands
• Roberto C. Alonso Baptista de Sousa, Spain
• [TBD], Norway
• Charlon Gouder, Malta
• Toomas Kevvai, Estonia
• Wilhelm Liljeqvist, Finland
• Johannes Palsson, Denmark
• Toby Parker, UK
• Frank Trearty, Ireland
• Marcin Bialobrzeski, Latvia

After the General Assembly, EFFOP’s biennial conference was held in Bremerhaven, co-hosted by Bioceval – the company of the newly elected president. The conference ran under the theme “From Waste to Value: Supporting a Circular Economy”. Over two days, sessions explored raw material availability and sustainable fishing, the strategic role of marine ingredients and by-products, blue foods, certification and traceability, technological developments and the latest EU initiatives, alongside the launch of EFFOP’s new communication strategy. The programme also included a harbour tour of Bremerhaven and a visit to the Bioceval factory in Cuxhaven.