Lifetime Achievement Award

List of Honorary Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients

Guidelines for Lifetime Achievement Award

The Board of Directors can periodically recognize individuals for their outstanding contribution to the Association and to the aquaculture sector in Canada. Awardees will be invited to the Annual Meeting where they will be presented with a plaque and be invited to give a special presentation.

Eligibility

Any former or current individual AAC member engaged in aquaculture-related activities in Canada will be eligible to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Criteria

The Lifetime Achievement Award will recognize an individual who best exemplifies the aims and objectives of the Association. The criteria for evaluating Lifetime Achievement Award nominees are intended to be inclusive. That is, people from all sectors of Canadian aquaculture should all be equally considered as potential nominees. 

Yves Bastien

Yves Bastien retired from the Federal Public Service in April 2007 after a 30 year career in the provincial and federal public services, and 24 years in aquaculture.

He started his aquaculture career with the Québec Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Food. Over a 13 year period he occupied 3 aquaculture positions: Aquaculture Industrial Development Officer, Coordinator for technical assistance to fisheries and aquaculture, and Mariculture Coordinator. His main function during this period was to organize and deliver extension services and technology transfer activities to the shellfish farming sector.

He was then seconded to the private sector, where as Director General, he designed, established and managed a semi-private mariculture investment fund called SODIM (Société de développement de l’industrie Maricole).

In 1999 he became Canada’s first Commissioner for Aquaculture Development, a position that he held until 2004. Reporting to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, he was tasked with championing the development of aquaculture in Canada, particularly within the federal government. Key achievements included the creation of the Program for Sustainable Aquaculture ($75 M over 5 years), a funding program to foster partnership and cooperation within the aquaculture industry, and 3 major reports with recommendations to the government of Canada: (1) Legislative and Regulatory Review of Aquaculture in Canada, (2) Achieving the Vision, and (3) Recommendations for Change.

At the end of his mandate as Commissioner he was offered the opportunity to implement his recommendations within the federal government and accepted the position of Executive Director, Aquaculture Management with DFO. During this period he managed DFO’s policy and regulatory responsibilities regarding aquaculture. He was co-chair of the Aquaculture Task Group (ATG) of the Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers (CCFAM), played a key role in the creation of the National Aquatic Animal Health Program (NAAHP) and laid the groundwork for the federal investment announced in the last budget.

During his career he was a member of several organizations including Aquanet, the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance, the World Aquaculture Society, Advisory Board of the Atlantic Veterinary College and the Aquaculture Association of Canada (of which he was twice elected President). In 2004 he received the Herb Dhaliwal Sustainable Aquaculture Award.
 

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Yves Bastien a pris sa retraite du gouvernement fédéral en avril 2007 après 30 années de carrière au sein de la fonction publique provinciale et fédérale et 24 années en aquaculture.

Il a débuté sa carrière en aquaculture au Ministère de l’agriculture, des pêcheries et de l’alimentation du Québec où il a occupé 3 positions sur une période de 13 ans : Agent de développement industriel en aquaculture, Coordonnateur à l’aide technique aux pêches et à l’aquaculture et Coordonnateur à la mariculture. Durant cette période, sa principale fonction consistait à organiser et à livrer des services d’aide technique et de transfert de technologie au secteur de la conchyliculture.

Il a ensuite été prêté au secteur privé où, à titre de Directeur général, il a conçu, mis en place et géré un fonds semi privé d’investissement en mariculture nommé SODIM (Société de développement de l’industrie maricole).

On lui a ensuite offert de devenir le premier Commissaire canadien au développement de l’aquaculture, une position qu’il a occupé de 1999 à 2004. Se rapportant au ministre des pêches et des océans, il devait se faire le champion du développement de l’aquaculture au Canada, particulièrement au sein du gouvernement fédéral. Entre autres réalisations, il a joué un rôle clé dans la création du Programme pour l’aquaculture durable ($ 75 M sur 5 ans), il a conçu et géré un programme d’aide financière au partenariat et à la coopération au sein de l’industrie aquicole et a publié 3 rapports contenant des recommandations au gouvernement fédéral : (1) Revue légale et réglementaire de l’aquaculture au Canada (2) Concrétiser la vision (3) Recommandations pour un changement.

À la fin de son mandat de Commissaire, on lui a offert de mettre en œuvre ses recommandations au sein du gouvernement et il a accepté la position de Directeur exécutif de la gestion de l’aquaculture au MPO. Au cours de cette période, il a géré les responsabilités du MPO en matière de politiques et de réglementation en aquaculture. Il a été co-président du Groupe de travail en aquaculture (GTA) du Conseil canadien des ministres des pêches et de l’aquaculture (CCMPA), a joué un rôle clé dans la création du Programme national sur la santé des animaux aquatiques (PNSAA) et a préparé le terrain pour l’investissement fédéral annoncé lors du dernier budget.

Au cours de sa carrière, il a été membre de nombreuses organisations incluant Aquanet, l’Alliance de l’industrie canadienne de l’aquaculture, la World Aquaculture Society, le Conseil consultatif du Collège vétérinaire de l’Atlantique et l’Association Aquacole du Canada, organisation pour laquelle il a été élu président à 2 reprises. En 2004 il a reçu le prix d'aquaculture durable Herb Dhaliwal.

  Lucien Poirier

Lucien Poirier a débuté sa carrière dans le secteur administratif québécois des pêches après ses études en biologie à l’Université de Montréal et à l’Université McGill. Il fut le premier biologiste québécois à s’intéresser à la mytiliculture et à la pectiniculture. Depuis 1982, il occupe des fonctions de direction. À ce titre, il a contribué à la conception et à la mise en application d’une offre de service aux pêches et à l’aquaculture favorisant l’établissement de liens entre la recherche et le développement. En aquaculture, son nom est associé au développement de plusieurs services à l’industrie et à la recherche dont, notamment, la Société de recherche et de développement en aquaculture continentale (SORDAC), la Société de développement de l’industrie maricole (SODIM). Au cours de sa carrière, il a su appliquer avec succès une stratégie reposant sur le partage des proirités d’intervention sectorielle en innovation, la recherche d’effets multiplicateurs des investissements et la réalisation de travaux en partenariat.

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Lucien Poirier began his career in the administrative sector of fisheries in Quebec after completing his studies in biology at the University of Montreal and McGill University. Mr. Poirier became the first biologist of Quebec to develop an interest in the culture of mussels and scallops. Since 1982, he has held various administrative roles which have contributed to the conception and the application of fishing and aquaculture services. Subsequently, these services have facilitated the merging of the fields of research and development. Within the area of aquaculture, his name is associated with the development of several services and research initiatives within the industry. More notably, some of these research initiatives have included, the Society of Research and Development in Continental Aquaculture (SORDAC), and the Society for the Development of the Mariculture Industry (SODIM). Over the course of his career, he has adopted with great success a strategy based on the following foundations: the amalgamation of the operations and innovation sectors, the research of the multiplier effect of investments towards the agreed priorities and the importance of working together in partnerships.

Louis E. Deveau, P. Eng., L.L.D. (Hon.), O.C.

Louis Deveau is the Chairman and Founder of Acadian Seaplants Limited, a seaweed manufacturing, cultivation and processing company specializing in value-added products developed for global agri-chemical, animal feeds, food ingredients including health, beauty and brewery markets and cultivated marine plants for the Asian food market. Mr. Deveau was born in Salmon River, Nova Scotia. He obtained a B. A. at Ste. Anne’s University in Church Point, Nova Scotia in 1953 and his B. Engineering at the Technical University of Nova Scotia (now Dalhousie University) in 1957. His innovative involvement in the economic development of marine resources in the Maritime Provinces dates to 1961. At that time he worked for the Federal Department of Fisheries for six years and was responsible for developing the snow crab and shrimp industries in the Maritime Provinces. Mr. Deveau ventured into the seaweed industry over 35 years ago and has dedicated his life to it. He was recruited by Marine Colloids of Rockland, Maine, USA, and from 1967-1989 he held positions as President of Marine Colloids Canada Ltd.; President of Philippine Marine Inc., Manila; President of Gel Mex, Mexico; and Vice-President of Marine Colloids Inc. His responsibility for the worldwide procurement of seaweeds for processing into carrageenan led him to circle the world numerous times. During this period, he spearheaded the development of an entirely new industry — seaweed farming in the Philippines and Malaysia, which today is a major industry in these countries. In 1980, Louis Deveau acquired the Canadian assets of Marine Colloids, Canada from its U.S. parent and in 1981 Acadian Seaplants Limited was born. Since then, Mr. Deveau has invested continuously in the development of innovative cultivation and manufacturing technologies and new product and market development. His strategy of innovation has transformed Acadian Seaplants from a one customer, one product company into a diversified, fully-integrated organizat ion, processing wild seaweeds into value-added agricultural products, animal feeds, food ingredients for the health, beauty and brewery industries and the cultivation and processing of seaweeds for the Asian food market. Louis Deveau’s association with seaweed started as a youngster on the Acadian French Shore of Nova Scotia’s Baie Ste. Marie. He discovered at an early age that seaweeds are an excellent source of nutrients for plants, noticing that his father would spread “goemon de roche” (the Acadian term for seaweed found on the rocky shoreline) on the crops he grew in the family vegetable garden. Years later, Louis would develop innovative, high quality, value-added products processed from seaweeds and create a seaweed industry in Atlantic Canada. Today, Mr. Deveau’s company is comprised of four product divisions: Food Science, Animal Science, Plant Science and Food Ingredients Divisions. He operates five major manufacturing and cultivation facilities in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island from a corporate office in Dartmouth Nova Scotia. Acadian Seaplants products are marketed and sold in over 70 countries around the world.

Ovila Daigle

Ovila Daigle grew up in Pointe-Sapin a small coastal community in New Brunswick. He has a degree in Forestry from UNB where he learned his trade of land surveyor. He started his career in Newcastle N.-B. in 1959 working with the province of NB, surveying forest lots to mark their boundaries and assess wood production. He went on to work with what was then the minister of Environment and Fisheries at the Ellerslie Fisheries Research Station in PEI. Ovila’s skills at surveying were extensively used to develop the shellfish leasing program and policy of the day.

Mr. Daigle and his team were responsible to define and survey the new leases, assess their potential, produce the maps and maintain a database for the hundreds of sites around the Maritime Provinces. Before the days of GPS and GIS, this type of work required lugging heavy surveying equipment through the woods, long hours of triangulation on water followed by animated discussions on wharves about oyster culture. Anyone who knows Ovila is bound to share is enthusiasm for shellfish culture and to appreciate his kind nature.

Part of his work at the Ellerslie station was to carry out extension programs to promote oyster culture. Because each new site had to be individually surveyed, Mr. Daigle developed an intimate knowledge of each bay. To this day, people still call him to find information about specific sites.

Following the onset of the Malpeque disease in the 50’ and 60’s, Mr. Daigle was called upon to re-stock all bays in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI with seeds resistant to the disease. Again, Ovila’s intimate knowledge of each bay proved valuable in ensuring the success of this program. Most oysters cultivated or harvested today (except in Bras d’Or Lake) in the Maritime Provinces are direct descendant of this seed stock. In total, 11, 000 barrels of 3-inch oysters and 272 barrels of 1-inch oysters were re-introduced in our waters by Mr. Daigle and his team between 1960 and 1970.

Following this, Mr. Daigle became manager of the Shellfish Leasing Program for Fisheries and Oceans where he was instrumental in setting up the burgeoning mussel aquaculture industry, especially in P.E.I. He retired from DFO in 1992.

Mr. Daigle is still very active in the family shellfish aquaculture enterprise, Aquaculture acadienne Ltée owned and operated by his son Maurice Daigle since 1982.

The shellfish aquaculture industry of the three Maritime Provinces is indebted to Mr. Daigle for this lifetime contribution.

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Ovila Daigle grandit à Pointe-Sapin, une petite collectivité côtière du Nouveau-Brunswick. Il détient un diplôme en foresterie de l’Université du Nouveau-Brunswick, où il a appris son métier d’arpenteur. Il débute sa carrière en 1959 à Newcastle, au N.-B., où il travaille pour la province à l’arpentage des terres boisées afin d’en définir les limites et d’évaluer leur production de bois. Il travaille par la suite pour le ministre de l’Environnement et des Pêches d’alors à la Ellerslie Fisheries Research Station, à l’Î.-P.-É. Ovila y met grandement à contribution ses compétences en arpentage afin de mettre sur pied le programme de baux de secteurs coquilliers et la politique connexe.

M. Daigle et son équipe ont alors la responsabilité de définir et d’arpenter les nouvelles concessions, d’évaluer leur potentiel, de concevoir des cartes et de mettre à jour une base de données portant sur des centaines de sites dans les provinces des Maritimes. Étant donné que les GPS et GIS n’ont pas encore fait leur apparition, ce type de travail nécessite de transporter du matériel d’arpentage très lourd dans les bois, d’effectuer de la triangulation durant de longues heures sur l’eau et de tenir par la suite de vives discussions au sujet de l’ostréiculture sur les quais. Tous ceux qui connaissent Ovila sont tenus de partager son enthousiasme pour la conchyliculture et d’apprécier son amabilité.

Une partie du travail qu’il effectue à la Ellerslie Fisheries Research Station consiste à mettre en œuvre des programmes d’appoint sur l’ostréiculture. Étant donné que chaque nouveau site doit être arpenté individuellement, M. Daigle apprend à connaître en détail chaque baie. Des gens qui cherchent de l’information sur des sites particuliers l’appellent encore aujourd’hui pour le consulter.

Après l’apparition de la maladie de Malpèque dans les années 50 et 60, on fait appel à M. Daigle pour qu’il rétablisse les stocks dans toutes les baies du Nouveau-Brunswick, de la Nouvelle-Écosse et de l’Île-du-Prince-Édouard à l’aide de stocks reproducteurs immunisés contre cette maladie. La connaissance approfondie qu’a Ovila de chaque baie s’avère d’une grande utilité pour faire de ce programme une réussite. La plupart des huîtres cultivées ou pêchées aujourd’hui dans les provinces des Maritimes (sauf dans le lac Bras d’Or) descendent directement de ces stocks reproducteurs. En tout, M. Daigle remet à l’eau le contenu de 11 000 barils d’huîtres de trois pouces et de 272 barils d’huîtres d’un pouce entre 1960 et 1970.

Par la suite, M. Daigle devient gestionnaire du Programme de baux de secteurs coquilliers à Pêches et Océans Canada, où il joue un rôle de premier plan dans l’éclosion de l’industrie florissante de la mytiliculture, surtout à l’Î.-P.-É. Il prend sa retraite du MPO en 1992.

M. Daigle demeure très actif au sein de l’entreprise conchylicole familiale, Aquaculture acadienne Ltée, que son fils Maurice Daigle possède et exploite depuis 1982.

L’industrie conchylicole des trois provinces Maritimes est reconnaissante à M. Daigle pour son énorme contribution dans le domaine.

Dr. William (Bill) Pennell

Dr. William (Bill) Pennell is a faculty advisor and instructor in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Malaspina University-College (MUC) in Nanaimo, BC. Bill received his Ph.D. in Marine Sciences from McGill University in 1973 and has been with MUC since 1980.

Bill is a member of several professional associations and committees including AAC, WAS, AAAS, Science Council of BC, AquaNet Education Committee (2000-2002), ACRDP Pacific Review Committee, BC IPOST-OSAP Advisory Committee and several BC industry association committees with both BCSFA and BCSGA. He is a former President and board member of the AAC and he has organised and assisted with many AAC meetings.

Bill’s research interest’s are varied and include shellfish production and husbandry, finfish culture, salmonid culture and copepods. He has received funding from many sources including Science Council of BC, CIDA, MUC research funds, BCMAFF, BC Ministry or Education, SSHRC and AquaNet. He has over thirty publications, many reflecting the applied nature of his research endeavours.

Bill is first and foremost an educator. He was instrumental in the development of the aquaculture programs at MUC and works continuously with the BC aquaculture industry to ensure the program graduates are trained appropriately to meet the needs of the industry. The technical diploma, the BSc and the international programs offer courses on the undergraduate level and graduate level in conjunction with UBC, OSU and several other international universities. As well, MUC delivers many industry-focussed workshops and Bill has been very proactive in the dissemination of aquaculture information and knowledge to the finfish, salmonid and shellfish industry in BC and internationally.

Recently, Bill was the driving force behind the initiation, development and successful funding of a new Centre for Shellfish Research at MUC, where he received a sizable grant from CFI. The Centre will the focus of research, education and technology transfer for the BC shellfish industry and the Centre will work closely with industry, students, the BC Shellfish Growers Association and DFO researchers, something Bill has promoted all through his career in aquaculture.

In summary, Bill is a long-time shellfish aquaculturist at Malaspina University College. He is a former President and board member of the AAC and has organised and assisted many AAC meetings. He is a shellfish and finfish researcher who has worked closely with the BC shellfish and salmonid growers. And he is an educator who was key in the development of the aquaculture program at Malaspina and the driving force behind the development of the Centre for Shellfish Research at Malaspina.