Oceanpick renames hatchery after aquaculture pioneer Alain Michel

Colombo, Sri Lanka-based Oceanpick renamed its barramundi hatchery after a pioneering figure in the world of aquaculture on 1 February.

Alain Michel, who passed in July 2022, paved the way for the global commercial success of the shrimp-farming industry and helped Oceanpick develop its commercial operations, according to the Daily Mirror. 

Michel died in June 2022 following a long and successful career in the aquaculture industry.

The renaming ceremony Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, featured speeches by Oceanpick Founder Irfan Thassim and Regis Badot, an international shrimp-farming consultant.

“His knowledge of aquaculture was unparalleled and his kindness, team spirit, and modesty touched all who worked with him. Alain Michel will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him and had the opportunity to work with him at Oceanpick,” Thassim said at the ceremony.

Michel was born in Versailles, France in 1937, and received a degree in agricultural engineering from The National Agronomical Institute, then went on to study oceanography at Paris University. During his career, Michel worked at ORSTOM (now Institute Reesearch and Development), French government agency CNEXO, Tahiti-based Centre Océanologique du Pacifique, and microenterprise Aqua R&D, which he created.

Throughout his career, Michel took visits to Sri Lanka to focus on development of infrastructure and broodstock for hatchery development. He began working with Oceanpick beginning in 2016, and was "a vital part of the immunization program and its development, preventative methodologies for out-control systems for aquaculture pathogens," the company said.

Photo courtesy of Oceanpick