Bob Desautel is co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Global Seas and Nina Fisheries, Inc. In 1994, he co-founded Nina Fisheries, a business that later developed internationally as it extended to Chile and Argentina in 1998. In 2001, Bob co-founded Global Seas, a subsidiary of Nina Fisheries, which quickly became one of the West Coast’s premier vessel management companies. Under Bob’s direction, Global Seas has grown and evolved into an internationally diverse entity with a portfolio of investments spanning the globe. Global Seas is involved in various industries, including the harvesting, processing, and marketing of seafood, maritime equipment sales, and ownership and operation of survey vessels for charter.
In 1978, while studying business at the University of Nevada, Bob began his career as a deckhand fishing in the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea. In 1980, he advanced to the role of Captain and served as Captain of various fishing vessels in the Alaskan pelagic fishery until 2002, when he retired from the ocean to focus on the expansion of Global Seas.
Bob has served as President and Member of the Board of the North Pacific Fishing Vessel Owners’ Association, advocating safety education for the commercial fishing industry by providing information about USCG requirements, OSHA compliance standards, MARPOL, hands-on training programs, and safety seminars and workshops. In 1993, Bob co-founded United Catcher Boats, serving as a Member of the Board and later as Vice President, all the while promoting the organization’s importance to Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and West Coast fisheries. Bob has been a board member for Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers and is now the Chairman.
His efforts serving on these Boards, as well as his involvement in other various organizations, have improved safety and created efficiencies in the commercial fishing and maritime industries. Bob currently possesses a United States Coast Guard (issue no.5) Masters 3000 ITC License.