Sustainable seafood standards group the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Americas has appointed Erika Feller as regional director of the Americas.

Feller, based in Washington DC, joins from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, where she oversaw ocean and coastal conservation efforts.

She replaces Brian Perkins, who left earlier this year to become chief operating officer at the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA).

The GAA has since been renamed as the Global Seafood Alliance.

In her new role, Feller will be charged with continuing to expand the MSC’s work with fisheries, the supply chain and consumers, leading a team of around 30 staff in Canada, the United States, and Latin America.

The executive has more than two decades of experience working on marine issues, with a focus on fisheries and cross-sector partnerships.

In Canada, Kurtis Hayne has been promoted to program director and will lead the MSC's Canadian strategy.

He was most recently senior commercial and fisheries manager for the MSC's Canada West division, and has almost a decade of experience working in seafood market analysis, fisheries, and ocean conservation.