Dr. Frank Hetrick sadly passed away on the 5th June. Frank was a professor at the University of Maryland (College Park) and he was truly one of the great fish health microbiologists. His research greatly advanced our knowledge of fish virology. His friendship was one of those things in life that is truly treasured. Condolences may be expressed to his wife, Norma, at 844 Woodmont Road, Annapolis, MD 21401-6910. 
Graham L. “Pete” Bullock
March 6, 1935 – Jauary 8, 2011
Dr. Graham L. “Pete” Bullock passed away on Saturday, January 8, 2011, at Jefferson Memorial Hospital after a long battle with polymysitis; - a degenerative muscle disease. Through his life, Pete touched the lives of individuals. By his research, he broadened our knowledge. By his teaching, he helped begin and advance our careers. In his friendship, he brought us together. His sense of humor was legendary. Pete was a valued colleague to numerous persons in fish health throughout North America and around the world. He was highly respected and well thought of by all who met him. We shall remember him, we shall miss him.
Pete was born in Martinsburg (WV) on March 6, 1935. He received his BS degree in Biology/Chemistry from Shepherd College (Shepherdstown, WV) in 1957 and his MS degree in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI) in 1959. He earned his PhD in Environmental Microbiology at Fordham University (Bronx, New York) in 1970 under the co-mentorship of Dr. Stanislaus F. Snieszko and Dr. John J. A. McLaughlin.
From 1959 – 1960, Pete worked as a quality control bacteriologist at the Thomas J. Lipton Company in Hoboken (NJ). In 1960, he was hired by Dr. Snieszko as a research microbiologist at the Eastern Fish Disease Laboratory (EFDL; Leetown, WV). It was there that he began an iconic career researching the diagnosis, control, and treatment of bacterial diseases of fish as a senior investigator and then as the section leader of Bacteriology when the EFDL evolved into the National Fish Health Research Laboratory (NFHRL; Leetown, WV). In 1981, Pete led the NFHRL as its scientific director, which was the position that he held until he retired from federal service in 1990. Even then Pete continued to conduct research on bacterial diseases, drug treatments, and the floral colonization of fluidized bed bio-filters at the Conservation Fund’s Freshwater Institute in Shepherdstown (WV) until 2005. He remained active for several more years tutoring homebound students for the Jefferson County Board of Education.
Pete was a member of the American Fisheries Society’s Fish Health and Fish Culture Sections and a Past President of the Fish Health Section. He was a recipient of the Dr. Stanislaus F. Snieszko Distinguished Service Award and the United States Department of the Interior’s Meritorious Service Award for his lifelong contributions to his profession. He authored more than 100 publications in scientific journals and published a book on bacterial diseases of fishes. Pete is survived by his wife Chris, his five children Jane, Jeff, Dan, Keith and David.
Many scientists and colleagues worldwide knew Tony not only as a person who was enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge and experience but also as a friend. He had a scientific career that most scientists would envy, full of ‘blue skies’ research, original ideas and the ability to generate relevant and timely research – while successfully eluding the bureaucracy (and even the computer for a long time!) which might have tied him to a desk. During a long and distinguished career, Tony led and transformed the field of fish immunology, taking it into the international arena. Tony has left an outstanding scientific contribution; from his innovative work the first effective vaccines against furunculosis in Atlantic salmon were produced which helped virtually to eliminate the disease in salmon farming. World-wide use of patented vaccines brought economic benefit to Scotland and allowed Scottish aquaculture to be both an economic success and an environmentally sustainable activity through the substantial reduction in antibiotic use. The technology revolutionised fish vaccine formulations for the next decade, and many of today’s vaccines are a consequence of Tony’s innovation, commitment and drive.
To highlight Tony as an eminent scientist is only one side of his life; outside of this scientific area he enjoyed walking, poetry, music, and being with his family. Tony expressed enthusiastic interest in a whole range of subjects and would happily engage in animated and expansive discussions. It is a mark of his immense kindness that, despite his towering intellect and analytical genius, his companions always felt included, understood and respected for their contributions. He would talk and socialise for hours - often through the night, but could go straight to delivering an important keynote speech the following morning, and in Tony’s style captivating the audience.
Tony was inspirational to a generation of scientists from his early seminal research leading to publications in the pre-eminent scientific journal Nature. He supervised over 35 PhD students, inspired countless others, and many of Tony’s students went on to establish their own research groups. His legacy will be reflected in the contribution these people make to immunological research.
Having written over 230 influential scientific papers and books, Tony received numerous international awards including the prestigious fellowship of the European Fish Immunological Society in recognition of his lifetime achievement. Tony was the editor of the EAFP for 10 years, held a Chair at the University of Aberdeen, and was Senior Editor of ‘Fish and Shellfish Immunology’ an international scientific journal which he co-founded.
Hopefully for a long time we will hear his laughter in our minds as we remember our great friend. Tony’s legacy will continue in the new fish health laboratory in Aberdeen named in recognition of his exceptional contribution to Scottish and international science.
If you knew Tony and want to expreess your thoughts please write to his wife Charlotte at chellis@thepond2000.myzen.co.uk
In memoriam
Dr. Sc. NIKOLA FIJAN, DVM
Professor Emeritus
( 1931 – 2009 )
Nikola Fijan passed away on 29. July 2009.
He was born on the fish farm ˝Poljana˝, Croatia, where his father was the general manager. He followed in his father's steps- graduated in 1950 at the classical high school in Zagreb and then continued to study at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of the Veterinary Medicine.
His main point of interest had been, from the very beginning, the fisheries- fish farming and fish biology and health. In 1957 he graduated there and in 1958 started to work at the Department for Biology and Pathology of Fish and Bees at the same Faculty where he also got his Ph.D. degree in 1959.
After several long and short term specialization courses in Poland and Israel he was appointed as full professor from 1978 till his retirement in 1993, serving in the meantime several terms as the head of the Department. The University of Zagreb awarded him the professor emeritus status.
He worked as the visiting professor at the Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama and the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff, Arkansas for 7 years. He spent two years in Brazil and had several long or short assignments in India, Thailand, Hungary and Rome, acting as expert of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Dr. Fijan was also the consultant/expert of World Health Organization (WHO) and was engaged at executive positions at several international organizations for fisheries (European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission- EIFAC, Permanent Commission for the Study of Fish Diseases (OIE) and the International Union of Nutritional Sciences (IUNS).
His published work opus contains 350 units - scientific research papers, books, chapters in encyclopedias, manuals, texts for students, vocational and popular articles, reviews, published lectures, instructions for fish farmers, research and other activity reports and investment projects written in Croatian, English, German, Portuguese, Polish and Hebrew. They were published with him as a single author or as a coauthor with numerous Croatian and over 60 international scientists.
His chapters in two eminent books on fish diseases in English as well as his own capital work in Croatian- Zaštita zdravlja riba- Fish Health Protection- in 2006, represent the considerable contribution to the knowledge in this particular field.
He has been the most cited author from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb. Only during the last three years his citations exceeded 120 which proves the actual values even of his earlier works.
His most cited work is on the description of properties of EPC cells which are used today in all laboratories for diagnostics and research of fish diseases world wide. He is the only Croatian scientist who together with his coworkers isolated and described three new viruses, two in Croatia and one in the USA.
His main goal in research was to apply his results in his further innovative scientific and professional projects. He was nationally and internationally recognized as a scientist who considerably improved the aquaculture both at home and abroad and helped fish farmers and beekeepers to upgrade their professional skills to more modern level.
He founded three viral laboratories for fish diseases at home and abroad and made projects for new or improved technologies in fish farming in Croatia and Brazil such as in induced spawning of herbivorous fish, common carp and European catfish, then in water recirculation in warm water spawning facilities, treatment of fish diseases by bathing or with medicated pellet feeds, in new approach to fishpond fertilization and in introduction of pond poly- culture. With his coworkers he carried out the first experiment in marine cage fish farming in Croatia.
His teaching activities include courses for undergraduate and graduate students of veterinary medicine and applied biology in fish and bee diseases and aquaculture both at his home country and abroad. He was also the leader of some short training programs for fellows from foreign countries.
He received numerous awards in his country (The Croatian National Annual Award for Research Achievements in Biological Sciences in 1990) and abroad and was decorated in France (Silver Medal of Honor for Aquaculture) and Czech Republic.
His wife Mirjana, son Darko and grandsons Filip and Sven were in his life, long –year professional work as well as in his scarce leisure time (fruit growing, fishing, chess and card playing) his lasting support.
In April 2009, Prof. Dr. Erwin Amlacher passed away at the age of 86. Born and raised in Transylvania, he first had to serve in the Romanian, then in the German army during World War II. Following a severe injury, he was captured by the Americans, whence he was able to flee to his wife in the Soviet occupation zone. From 1947 to 1952, he studied at the University of Jena, obtaining a degree in biology (Diplom) and passing the preliminary medical exam for human medicine (Physikum). Subsequently, his path led him to Berlin to the "Institut für Binnenfischerei der Deutschen Akademie für Landwirtschaftswissenschaften," where he concentrated on studying fresh-water fish diseases and diagnostics. This work led to the awarding of his doctorate in natural sciences (Dr. rer. nat) in 1956 at the Humboldt-University, Berlin.
As one of the leading scientists in this field, he investigated "Infectious Dropsy," and Fish mycobacteriosis, among other diseases. In 1961 the fruit of his works was published for the first time, the "Fish Diseases Textbook" ("Taschenbuch der Fischkrankheiten"). Up until 1992, it reached six editions. This standard work was also translated into English and Spanish and was for many young scientists and practitioners - as well as for the author of this obituary - their first manual on fish diseases.
Due to his political attitude, he had to leave the "Institut für Binnenfischerei" in 1962, but found a new position in Berlin-Buch at the "Institut für Krebsforschung" (Institute of Cancer Research), where he developed new methods in the field of autoradiography that led to an understanding of how tumors are caused by chemical pollutants. In 1964, he habilitated at the Humbolt University and taught fish diseases at the veterinary department. He changed over to the "Institut für Pathologie" (Institute of Pathology) at the University of Jena, where he continued his cancer research as head of the department. Political reasons forced him to give up teaching and were the cause for his not being promoted to professor. He devoted himself to fish diseases again until he retired, which was reflected in the ever increasing size of the manual, which soon became a reference work.
Even before reunification, he succeeded in obtaining a visiting professorship at the Munich Veterinary Department at the institute of the author of this obituary in 1988. The day of reunification, November 9, 1989, I spent visiting Amlacher in Jena. In 1993, the Free State of Thuringia rehabilitated him by appointing him as an extraordinary professor. Apart from his scientific area of expertise, Amlacher was committed to the history of his home Transylvania and published several essays on the subject.
Erwin Amlacher was a straightforward man, living his convictions, albeit not always diplomatically. He did not allow himself to be taken in by the political system of the German Democratic Republic.
Against all odds, he was able to work successfully and gained international recognition in the field of fish diseases. With him, we lose a scientist who possessed a solid foundation, someone who rendered considerable contributions to fish pathology, and who remained true to himself even in difficult situations. His remaining years he spent with his family, marked by illness. We will keep Erwin Amlacher in our fondest memories.
Prof. Ilan Paperna, an eminent parasitologist, passed away on March 28, 2009. While we mourn his loss, we also celebrate his many accomplishments, and I would like to make known the sense of loss and the admiration that colleagues and collaborators feel for a great scholar and brilliant scientist who devoted his entire life to research work. Ilan received a PhD degree in Parasitology in 1964 from the Hadassah Medical School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1973 he was a Senior Lecturer and resident scientist at the Heinz Steinitz Marine Biology Laboratory in Eilat (today the InterUniversity Institute) which he directed in 1974-1977 and again in 1979-1980. In those years Ilan conducted pioneer studies on little known or yet undescribed fish diseases in marine aquaculture as well as on parasites from wild fish. In 1985, as an Associate Professor, he moved to the Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Quality Sciences in Rehovot (Hebrew University of Jerusalem). He became a full Professor in 1990 and Professor Emeritus in 2006.
Of any biological challenge Ilan was able to scan first the comprehensive picture, then pinpoint the relevant details and focus on them without being distracted by "background noise". Ilan's sharp mind and unconventional way of looking at biological mechanisms allowed him to formulate hypotheses that among his colleagues every so often went through three stages: regarded as too farfetched, then proven correct, and finally accepted as most obvious. Ilan authored or co-authored over 300 papers, mostly in prestigious scientific journals, several chapters in books, monographic reviews, etc. He also left on his desk no less than a dozen of unfinished manuscripts.
Ilan was a person of many skills. His painting and drawing abilities were of an unquestionably professional level, a talent reflected in the absolute precision of detail in outlining the morphology and microanatomy of the parasites he studied. He was also an excellent cook, who liked to surprise his guests and friends with delicious exotic dishes, an offshoot of his many work trips around the world. He was fluent in several languages. In 1964-1968, in the service of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department for International Cooperation, he was a Senior Research Officer at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Accra (Ghana), and later a Senior Lecturer on zoology and parasitology at Makerere University (Uganda). Between these two African stints, in 1968-1970, he worked as a Senior Research Entomology Officer at the Kimron Veterinary Institute in Beit Dagan (Israel). In 1972-1973, as a Senior Scientist and Research Fellow, he conducted research at the College of William & Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, in Williamsburg (USA). In 1978, Ilan was awarded the prestigious Elson Dew medal by the Parasitological Society of Southern Africa for his outstanding contributions to parasitology. He was active on a number of national boards and commissions and frequently went on short-term overseas assignments. He helped organize a fish disease laboratory and services in Portugal and was invited on various occasions as a consultant on diagnosis and study of diseases of aquatic organisms in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France, South Africa, Botswna, Kenya and China. He took sabbatical leaves to study various tropical parasitology topics in the southern USA, Australia, Brazil, Thailand, Kenya, Solomon Islands and Singapore. Despite the fact that Ilan was very well-traveled, he remained a true "sabra" (literally "cactus pear", as Israeli natives are called, a metaphoric reference to their sometimes prickly exteriors enclosing a sweet, tender center). The complexity of Ilan's character could actually be simplified by describing it as a blend of charm and straightforwardness. Ilan's tendency to shorten times and distances and get down to business was often misinterpreted by his more formal European colleagues, but it never meant lack of deference, rather lack of pretension and snobbery. It was in fact his aversion to ceremony that made Ilan always easy to connect with, and that made personal relationships with him acquire an extraordinary immediacy and intensity. Ilan will be remembered not only for the vast body of original quality research and pioneer work he left behind in many fields, but also for his generosity, for having touched the lives of so many collaborators in the scientific community both in Israel and abroad, and for having made the products of his work accessible to all.
Dr. Angelo Colorni
EAFP Branch Officer in Israel
During the first meeting of the EIFAC/OIE Co-operative Programme of Research on Aquaculture (COPRAQ) in Zagreb (Croatia) in 1975, the establishment of a professional association of fish pathologists was recommended. The workforce engaged in fish disease studies throughout Europe warmly supported the idea. A committee of five was elected by postal ballot and given the task of organizing the formation of the European Association of Fish Pathologists, drafting the statutes which were discussed and approved at the inaugural meeting held in Münich in October 1979. Shmuel Sarig was a member of that committee (the other ones were R. Bootsma, BJ. Hill, RJ. Roberts, and PE. Vestergård-Jørgensen).
Shmuel Sarig was also one of the founders in 1936 of Nir-David (David's Meadow, in Hebrew), a kibbutz (cooperative farm) located in the Bet She'an Valley in northern Israel. One of the kibbutz's main sources of income has always been from fish ponds. Shmuel Sarig established close relations with Israeli academia, getting scientists from various Universities interested and involved in trouble-shooting and problem-solving for the then infant aquaculture industry. Blessed with a keen natural spirit of observation and scientific curiosity, Shmuel quickly became a self-taught pioneer and much sought-after advisor in fish diseases. In 1944, at a time when ichthyopathology was not even a recognized science, Shmuel founded a laboratory on the kibbutz to investigate fish diseases. From its location at the heart of the pond-raised fish area, and under the auspices of the Department of Fisheries & Aquaculture of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, the Central Fish Health Laboratory at Nir David has been offering veterinary services to fish growers ever since. In 1945 an outbreak of the toxic alga Prymnesium parvum in brackish water ponds spread rapidly and brought the carp industry to the verge of collapse. In a joint effort, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, headed by the late Prof. Moshe Shilo, solved the problem using ammonium sulfate. In 1948, Shmuel Sarig founded "Bamidgeh", later to become "The Israeli Journal of Aquaculture", the official quarterly publication of the Society of Israeli Aquaculture and Marine Biotechnology. He was IJA's Editor until 1988. His book "Diseases of Fishes", edited by S.F. Snieszko & H.R. Axelrod and published in 1971, was one of the first comprehensive treatises on the subject. Shmuel Sarig authored or co-authored over 50 scientific and technical articles and wrote several chapters in aquaculture books.
Shmuel Sarig was fluent in several languages and cultivated many interests. He was an energetic person who espoused David Ben Gurion's vision of "making the desert bloom", inspired many young people to study the diseases of fish and played an influential role in the development of the aquaculture industry in Israel.
Dr. Angelo Colorni
EAFP Branch Officer in Israel
The aim of the EAFP is to promote the exchange of knowledge and co-ordination of research related to fish and shellfish pathology.
