Shangri-La Hotel, on the banks of the Chao Phraya in Bangkok, Thailand, will be where the GSA and TCRS will jointly hold their annual summits next year.
Photo: Adobe Stock.
The Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) announced that the capital of Thailand, Bangkok, will host its annual Responsible Seafood Summit during the week of September 21, 2026. Celebrating its 25th edition, the summit will welcome The Center for Responsible Seafood (TCRS) as co-host, merging the content of the TCRS Shrimp Summit into the program of the industry-leading event for sustainability-minded seafood professionals.
With similar missions and deep ties—George Chamberlain, President of The Center for Responsible Seafood, founded the Global Seafood Alliance in 1997, then named the Global Aquaculture Alliance—both non-profit organizations planned to hold their annual events in Bangkok in 2026.
Therefore, they chose to join forces for what they have described as "one special week" in one of the world's most important centers for seafood production and trade.
Specifically, the Responsible Seafood Summit will take place at Shangri-La Bangkok, a 5-star luxury hotel in the heart of the city. With Thailand being one of the world's top shrimp-producing regions, the event returns to the Asian country for the first time since 2012.
"The upcoming calendar year provides a unique opportunity for both GSA and TCRS to offer a new, exciting and high-value event to the global seafood industry, with a special focused track devoted to shrimp," said Mike Kocsis, CEO of GSA, commenting on the announcement.
"The Responsible Seafood Summit is constantly evolving to meet the needs of today's seafood professionals, who find tremendous value in the expert content providers that we enlist, our unique production forecasts and analysis, and the unparalleled networking opportunities in some of the world's greatest cities," he continued.
"The global shrimp industry faces unprecedented challenges – both on the water and in a turbulent global marketplace – that only pre-competitive collaboration can effectively address, and next year's Summit will be a key area for industry leaders to gather and leave the day-to-day business aside for a while to address cross-cutting concerns," GSA CEO concluded.
For his part, George Chamberlain, current TCRS President and, as mentioned, the founder of the Global Seafood Alliance, said that the reunion comes at a critical time for both shrimp producers and all links within the supply chain.
"For the past three years, in Vietnam, India and Indonesia, TCRS has convened global industry leaders as well as the next generation of leaders for the Shrimp Summit, where we explore the full potential of shrimp aquaculture," he stated.
"I'm excited to share the latest information that supports TCRS's vision that regenerative aquaculture – in which the producers don't just mitigate their environmental impact but actually improve their local ecosystems – is the future of this industry and shrimp farmers can lead the way," Chamberlain added.
The city chosen for the 25th edition of the GSA summit has special significance for the organization, not only because the then GAA held its first annual conference in Bangkok in 2004, but also because it was at the 1996 World Aquaculture Society (WAS) meeting in this same city that the creation of an aquaculture trade association was first imagined.
Now a well-known international, non-profit organization headquartered in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and dedicated to advancing responsible seafood practices through education, advocacy and third-party assurances, the Global Aquaculture Alliance was officially founded the following year, in 1997, based in the United States and with George Chamberlain as President, a role he held until 2022.
Originally founded as the Responsible Aquaculture Foundation in 2009, and also headquartered in Portsmouth, N.H., in the U.S., The Center for Responsible Seafood, for its part, strives to advance its vision of a world meeting the critical need for seafood produced through regenerative processes.
At its Shrimp Summit, the TCRS brings together the entire seafood value chain to develop practical approaches that improve the efficiency, sustainability, and economic viability of the global shrimp industry, a task for which it will have the support of the GSA in 2026.
The Global Seafood Alliance will soon announce early registration for the 2026 event. However, those interested in registering for the early waiting list can find more information on the GSA website.
