Chairman of Stolt Sea Farm and former member of The Kingfish Company's Supervisory Board Jordi Trias (right), pictured with Nathan Pyne-Carter, CEO of Ace Aquatec (left), during North Atlantic Seafood Forum.
Photo: Ace Aquatec.
The Kingfish Company announced that Jordi Trias has resigned from his role as a member of the Supervisory Board, effective as of February 12. The announcement confirmed a previous communication from mid-December in which the Netherlands-based yellowtail kingfish farmer already revealed his intention, although without specifying a date beyond that it would occur during the first quarter of 2026.
As the company then reported, Trias's desire to step down from the Supervisory Board responded to its intention to focus more fully on his responsibilities within his own business at sole and turbot farming company Stolt Sea Farm (SSF).
In the statement announcing the resignation, Jeroen Scheelbeek, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of The Kingfish Company, thanked Trias on behalf of the Board for his "exceptional contribution" over the past three years, saying that his expertise, strategic insight and wise judgement had been invaluable to Kingfish and supported the company's growth and development during an important phase of its journey. "His perspective and experience will be greatly missed," Scheelbeek added.
In that same statement, Jordi Trias said, for his part, that he had greatly enjoyed his three years in the role and was proud of the progress the company had made during the period. "Kingfish is in a strong position to further strengthen its leadership in the yellowtail category, supported by its innovative and sustainable technology. As the Company enters this next phase, I intend to focus more fully on my responsibilities within my own business at Stolt Sea Farm," he stated.
At the time of that announcement, in mid-December, it was expected that Trias's departure from the Supervisory Board during the first quarter of 2026 would coincide with the arrival of The Kingfish Company's announced new CEO, Karl Buiks, who was scheduled to succeed Vincent Erenst on January 1, 2026. However, on that same day, after reporting Trias's resignation, the company issued another statement announcing that, for personal reasons, Buiks had decided to resign before taking office.
Now, the company said the Nomination Committee has already begun the process of identifying a suitable successor for Trias. Whoever becomes the new member of the Supervisory Board will, like their predecessor, run into Erenst, who, after Buiks' departure, agreed to postpone his retirement and continue to lead the company for another year.
In its latest earnings report, released at the end of January, the land-based yellowtail kingfish farmer reported slower growth and indicated that it has begun discussions with investors and lenders to ensure it has enough funding to continue expanding, as it enters the next phase to which Trias alluded.