Annual FEAP Award for Excellence in European Aquaculture Awarded to Aquafeed Specialist
Jean-Jacques Sabaut
The second presentation was made of the FEAP Award for Excellence in European Aquaculture at the Federation’s autumn meeting, which was held in Prague (Czech Republic) recently. This award is made annually to a person who has excelled in their contribution to the development of European aquaculture and is proudly sponsored by Schering-Plough Animal Health Aquaculture.
This year, the award was presented to Jean-Jacques Sabaut who spent his entire career in the development of feeds, working mainly in France.
After starting in academic research in the 1970s, investigating the nutritional requirements of seabream, he moved to industry and joined ‘Aqualim’, a subsidiary of ‘Les Grands Moulins de Paris’.
He worked on the development of specialist fish feeds for many years and, in the eyes of many, contributed significantly to the development of Mediterranean fish farming when it was in its infancy.
Eventually, he became more involved with the business side of the fish feed sector and occupied senior management positions within ‘Aqualim’, which later became ‘Biomar France’.
Mr. John Stephanis, President of the FEAP, admitted that ‘when I started ‘Selonda Aquaculture’, 25 years ago, ‘J.J.’ was my teacher, my advisor and a strong engine to push me forward. I still remember the days and nights that he gave me private lectures on what to do in Mediterranean aquaculture’.
His dynamism and commitment on the professional front was mirrored by his efforts to promote associative structures for the promotion and representation of aquaculture, being the founder of the French Association for the Development of Aquaculture (ADA). He was President of the European Aquaculture Society between 1988 and 1990 and also presided over the French professional organizations concerned with aquafeed manufacture.
More recently, he committed many efforts to the French Interprofessional Committee for Aquaculture Products – the CIPA – bringing his expertise to the creation and operation of this important French aquaculture organization. Finally, he was a representative in the newly-founded Fish Feed Committee of the European Federation of Compound Feed Manufacturers (FEFAC).
The award was presented to Mr. Sabaut by Professor Patrick Smith of Schering-Plough Animal Health Corporation. Professor Smith, a 30-year veteran of the aquaculture industry, has dedicated his professional career to fish health. He joined the fish diseases lab in 1975, where he spent four years working on fish immunology before moving to Norway to continue his work in fish immunology at Tromsø University for fish diseases. In 1982 Professor Smith established Aquaculture Vaccines Limited (AVL), where he pioneered the first ever commercialization of fish vaccines. Today, Mr Smith heads up the business development and project feasibility department for Schering-Plough Animal Health’s dedicated aquaculture business unit.
In presenting the award, Professor Smith reaffirmed Schering-Plough’s commitment to the aquaculture industry and highlighted its continuing investment in the European industry where seven vaccines either have been granted registration through the European mutual recognition procedure or are in the pipeline for application to the decentralized procedure. Europe is also where continuing investment in innovative research-based health solutions has seen numerous vaccines developed for a variety of species, including marine fish species, a sector to which Mr Jean-Jacques Sabaut has made valuable contributions through his life-long career involvement in fish nutrition as well as his representation within the profession.
The FEAP Award for Excellence is made each year at the Annual General Assembly of the Federation. Recipients are selected from nominations made by National Aquaculture Associations that are members of the FEAP.
