Privacy Policy

Effective Date: February 27, 2023

The Company (as defined below) is committed to handling and safeguarding your Data appropriately and in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

This purpose of this Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) is to explain the practices of the Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) Community of Practice (CoP) as coordinated by Scaling Blue, LLC (collectively, the “Company”) and its affiliates with respect to the collection, use, storage, sharing, and disclosure of your personal information (sometimes referred to as the “Data”). 

The Policy applies globally to Data collected through www.fipcop.org (the “Site”); visitors to any of the Company’s or its affiliates’ physical premises; individuals who attend or interact with the Company in any fashion about any events organized by or on behalf of the Company; recipients of mailings, newsletters, or other communications issued by or on behalf of the Company; and current and former officers, owners, or other representatives of the Company (collectively, the “Services”).  All individuals subject to the Policy are referred to herein as “Users.”

Any individual using the Services must be at least eighteen (18) years of age.

The Company does not sell, and has not sold in the preceding twelve (12) months, personal information or Data of any kind to third parties.

Personal Information Collected.

The Company may collect or generate personal information about you, or a third party acting on your behalf at your instruction, in several ways and from a number of sources.

The following is a list of categories of personal information, along with some descriptions and examples, that the Company may collect or generate through the Services.  This information may be provided by you, generated automatically (via cookies or similar tools), or be obtained from third parties.  Some Data or Data elements that the Company collects may fall into multiple categories, and some may be considered sensitive personal information, such as government identification numbers and information regarding your health.

Data Provided by Users:

Personal Identifiers.  This may include first and last name; email address; physical address; telephone number; unique personal identifiers and related information; photographic images and video recordings; signature.

Demographic and Professional Information.  This may include age; gender; occupation; job title, responsibilities, and projects; country; and company affiliation(s).

User-generated content.  This may include Data submitted by users when they contact the Company to seek support, provide feedback, or otherwise.

Data Generated During Use of Services:

Device and Online Identifiers and Related Information.  This may include online identifiers, usernames, avatars, login information, auto-population preferences, Internet Protocol (IP) address, mobile carrier, device identification information, and other device information.

Internet, Application, and Network Activity.  This may include data related to user activity (for example, when and how you used the Site or interact with email communications), including emails, browsing history, search and clickstream history, online website tracking information, other data related to user activity, and Uniform Resource Locator (URL) referral information.

Usage Data.  This may include data about how Users interact with the Services, such as pages or features viewed, crashes, and other system activity.

Data From Other Sources:

This may include information from publicly available sources, referral sources, marketing service providers contracted for marketing or other research, law enforcement or other government authorities, and information provided in connection with any claim, dispute, or inquiry.

Use of Personal Information.

The Company collects and uses your personal information for the following business purposes, which are necessary for operations, fulfilling the Company’s various obligations, or protecting the Company and the Users’ legitimate interests, such as monitoring and improving the Services.

Contacting and communicating with you, including sending communications that you have requested, such as emails and newsletters, as well as other marketing activities, such as developing models, identifying marketing recipients, and delivering marketing communications.

Presenting services or products that may be of interest, whether of the Company or of a third party.

Responding to any communications about the Company or the Services.

Authenticating User identities, mitigating fraud, and enhancing the security of the Services.

Administering, operating, and managing the User’s relationship with the Company.  This may include disclosing Data internally as well as to third parties.  Examples include providing customer support, enabling communication with the User, or responding to complaints.

Meeting any regulatory and compliance obligations, and complying with contractual obligations, relevant industry standards, and our other policies.

Performing analytics concerning use of the Services, including responses to our emails and the pages and information that is viewed.

Enabling Site administration and management.

Operation, evaluation, and improvement of the Services, including managing risk, fulfilling legal and regulatory requirements, developing new services, improving existing services, performing accounting, auditing, and other internal functions.

Investigate or address claims or disputes relating to use the Services, to satisfy requirements under applicable laws, regulations, or operating licenses or agreements, or pursuant to legal process or governmental request, including from law enforcement.

The Company may also use Data for any other purpose that it discloses at the time a User provides, or when the Company collects, Data, and other purposes permitted by applicable law.

The Company may also use Data on an aggregate or anonymous basis for various business purposes, where permissible under applicable laws and regulations. 

Disclosure of Personal Information.

The Company may disclose personal information as set forth below.

Company affiliates.  The Company may disclose personal information with members of the Company or its affiliates.

Vendors.  The Company may disclose personal information with non-affiliated companies that perform support services for the Company, such as data analytics, risk management, security services, advertising and marketing, customer support, mail services, email delivery, information technology, or other service providers and business partners.

Legal Process.  The Company may disclose Data to third parties as permitted or required by applicable laws and regulations.  This may include responding to subpoena or similar legal process, protecting against fraud, and cooperating with law enforcement or regulatory authorities.  The Company may also disclose Data to enforce our contractual rights.

Emergencies.  The Company may disclose information if it believes it is necessary or appropriate to protect the Company’s rights, property, or safety, or the rights, property, or safety or its employees, customers, or others. 

Corporate Transactions: In the event of a corporate transaction, such as a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution or other sale or transfer of any or all of our assets or liabilities, some of the personal information that the Company holds may be among the assets or liabilities transferred to a successor in interest.  The Company may also transfer to another entity or its affiliates or service providers some or all Data in connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, acquisition, sale of assets or liability or any line of business, change in control, or financing transaction.

Consent or Direction.  The Company may share a User’s Data if the User consents or directs the Company to do so.

The Company may also use and disclose Data that it collects on an aggregate, de-identified or anonymous basis for various business purposes, where permissible under applicable laws and regulations.

The Company may also disclose Data to others where required or permissible under applicable laws and regulations.

Protection and Retention of Personal Information.

The Company works to limit access to personal information to authorized employees, agents, contractors, or vendors.  The Company maintains physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards designed to protect the information against loss, misuse, damage or modification and unauthorized access or disclosure while in our possession.  The Company aims to uncover vulnerabilities in the Site and Services and will investigate, correct, and disclose any issues as appropriate.  The Company may use cloud-based storage services for Data. 

The Company retains personal information for varying time periods depending on its relationship with the User and the status of that relationship.  When determining how long to keep personal information, the Company considers our legal and regulatory obligations and our legitimate business interests (such as managing the Services, preventing fraud, responding to regulatory or supervisory inquiries, and establishing, exercising, or defending legal claims, disputes, or complaints).

User Choice in Personal Information Collection.

If you decide at any time that you no longer wish to receive marketing emails from the Company, please follow the “unsubscribe” instructions provided in such emails. Please note that even if you unsubscribe, the Company may continue to send transactional or administrative emails, such as legally required, regulatory, or service notifications.

Most mobile device platforms have defined certain types of device data that apps cannot access without the device owner’s permission, and these platforms have different methods for how that mission can be obtained.  Please check the available settings on your device or check with your provider.

Users may request deletion of their Data, or that the Company stop using all or some of their Data.  The Company may continue to store and process after such request to the extent required or permitted by law.  Users may also request correction of inaccurate Data.

Cookies.  “Cookies” are small text files that are stored on browsers or devices by websites, apps, online media, and advertisements.  The Company may use cookies and similar technologies for purposes such as authenticating users, remembering user preferences and settings, determining the popularity of content, delivering, and measuring the effectiveness of certain campaigns, analyzing site traffic and trends, and generally understanding the online behaviors and interests of people who interact with the Services.  Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default.  If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove or reject browser cookies.  Some third parties also provide the ability to refuse their cookies directly by clicking on an opt-out link.

Other Important Information.

The Services may connect Users or provide links to third-party websites, sharing facilities, or other applications and services.  Information collected by such third-party providers is governed by their privacy policies.  The Company is not responsible for, and this Policy does not apply to, the privacy practices of any linked website or any companies or content that the Company does not own or control.

The Company does not discriminate in any way, by reason of race, creed, color, age, disability, ethnicity, nation of original, gender, sex, sexual orientation, union membership, or any characteristic protected by law, in implementing this Policy, nor does it discriminate against Users for exercising their rights under this Policy.  The Company does not knowingly share Data with minors.

This Policy and any associated materials, notices, or statements are prepared in the English language only, and English shall be its official and controlling language in all respects. For further information about how this policy applies, may apply, or does not apply in relation to a particular country, region, or jurisdiction, please contact us at contact@fipcop.org.

The Company may update this Policy from time to time.  If changes are made, the “Effective Date” at the top of this Policy will be updated.  Any changes will become effective when posted unless indicated otherwise.  Your continued use of the Services following these changes constitutes consent to the updated notice to the extent permitted by law.