Naming of ‘Alain Michel Hatchery’ at Oceanpick, Sri Lanka

Following the valuable contributions made by Alain Michel, the French consultant who died on 11 June 2022 (see issue January/February 2022, pages 49-52), the Board of Directors of Oceanpick Pvt Ltd in Sri Lanka decided to rename Oceanpick hatchery as the “Alain Michel Hatchery”. The ceremony took place at Oceanpick farms in Trincomalee on 26 January 2023. It was attended by company staff, dignitaries, virtually by Michel’s family and friends and was live streamed to colleagues around the globe.

Oceanpick is Sri Lanka’s first oceanic fish farm, with cages located off Trincomalee on its eastern seaboard. It farms the Asian seabass or barramundi. The farm was established in 2012 and received a Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) in 2019. The hatchery was established in 2018.

Alain Michel was introduced to Oceanpick farms by Peter Richardson of Kames fish farms in 2016. His expertise was sought to develop the hatchery for Oceanpick. His initial visit to the island in 2016 was to better understand the operations and production of barramundi in South Asia’s largest commercial finfish farm. At that time, Oceanpick farms consisted of 10-16 sea cages. Michel’s subsequent visits to Sri Lanka focused on the development of the necessary infrastructure and to collect the broodstock from existing stocks for the initial development stage of the hatchery project.

The team at Oceanpick appreciated Michel’s contribution. “Alain developed a keen interest in Oceanpick farms. His kindness, team spirit and modesty touched all who worked closely with him at the farm. This was also the beginning of our enduring friendship,” said Oceanpick founder Irfan Thassim.

Michel continued his work with Oceanpick farms as a permanent consultant and was instrumental in developing the immunisation program for the hatchery including preventive methodologies for disease outbreaks and went on to further improve the farm’s husbandry practices. “Alain will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him and had the opportunity to work with him at Oceanpick. He was not only renowned for his professional skills but for his kindness and humanity which Oceanpick has come to cherish over the years,” said Irfan. www.oceanpick.com