The Oscar Elton Sette Award:

Outstanding Marine Fishery Biologist

The basic criterion for identifying recipients of the award is sustained excellence in marine fishery biology through research, teaching, administration, or a combination of the three. MFS adopted the following guidelines:

1. North American residents are the preferred recipients, but the award may be given to any suitable candidate.

2. Membership in the American Fisheries Society is a positive attribute but is not required. AFS membership could tip the balance between otherwise equally-deserving candidates.

3. Living recipients are preferred, but the award may be given posthumously.

4. The Committee considers not only candidates who, by virtue of their position and personality, are widely known, but may also have labored quietly and are less well-known, but who have made sustained and important contributions to marine fishery biology.

5. Candidates should be clearly identified with marine fishery science, even though there may well be crossover between marine and freshwater environments. Contributions to any discipline within the broad spectrum of activities in marine fisheries biology should be considered appropriate for candidates, including systematics, physiology, and ecology.

6. Runner(s)-up from a given year's consideration will be considered automatically for the award in the subsequent year. The committee each year will normally decide upon the names of candidates to be carried forward at the time of their deliberations for the awardee.

Submissions for Sette Award candidates for 2008 will be accepted through May 24, 2008 and should be made to Desmond Kahn, Sette Award Committee chair, via electronic submission (desmond.kahn@state.de.us).

MFS O.E. Sette Award Committee:

2006-2008:  Desmond Kahn (Chair), Emory Anderson, Ed Houde, and Dick Stone

2004:           Desmond Kahn (Chair), Emory Anderson, Patricia Gerrior, Ed Houde, Dick Stone

2003:           Desmond Kahn (Chair), Patricia Gerrior, Ed Houde, Dick Stone

2001-2002:  Desmond Kahn (Chair), Patricia Gerrior, Dick Stone

                    Desmond Kahn (Chair), Edward Houde, Richard Stone, Patricia Gerrior

1997-98:      Doug Vaughan (Chair), Ken Able, Patricia Gerrior, Gary Sakagawa, Dick Stone

This is being updated by Desmond Kahn.

Oscar Elton Sette Award Recipients

1991   Lloyd Dickie
1992   Douglas Chapman
1993   D.E. "Curly" Wohlschlag
1994   Saul B. Saila
1995   William G. Pearcy
1996   William C. Leggett
1997   William E. Ricker
1998   Edward D. Houde
1999   Austin B. Williams
2000   Edmund S. Hobson
2001   Daniel Pauly
2002   William Richards, NMFS, Miami, FL
2003   Michael P. Sissenwine
2004   Kenneth W. Able

2005   Richard “Dick” Beamish

2006 Kenneth Sherman, NOAA Fisheries, Narragansett, RI

2007 Robert Frances

A complete listing of all previous recipients of the Oscar E. Sette Award, with the nomination information,  will be posted soon.