Sophika Kostyniuk

As Aquatic Life Institute’s Managing Director, Sophika aims to build bridges between the ocean conservation, sustainable seafood and animal welfare movements. With 20 years’ experience in the ocean and forest conservation sectors, she has driven positive and long-lasting change through global supply chains by creating deep partnerships with diverse stakeholder networks.

A systems thinker by nature, Sophika has a long history of engineering practical, actionable solutions for businesses and governments alike. She has moved the sustainability needle forward on sourcing practices with the likes of Target, Hearst Publishing and Safeway, as well as the Government of California on seafood labeling. Under her leadership, aquatic animal welfare has now been incorporated into policy language of the FAO, the European Union, global seafood certifiers and country level policy in both Canada and the UK.

An ecologist by training, she is endlessly curious about the intricacies of complex systems and strives to approach each day with humour and humility.