| Summary: | It is with great happiness that we extend warmest good wishes to Dr Zbigniew (Bob) Kabata and announce his recent 80th birthday on 17 March 2004. An important dignitary of the Editorial Advisory Board of Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria, Dr. Kabata′s expertise in parasitology is legendary and his guidance and goodwill are greatly appreciated.We also beam in announcing that on 2 August 2003, the American Society of Parasitologists (ASP) honored Dr Kabata by bestowing upon him the Eminent Parasitologist Award at the Society′s 78th Annual Meeting held in Halifax, Canada. Not reserved for ASP members, the Eminent Parasitologist Award is bestowed on a bi-annual basis for a substantial contribution to parasitology over a long period. Dr Kabata could not attend the meeting, but those in attendance heard introductory remarks by Dr Timothy Goater (Appendix 1) and then a video-taped acceptance speech by Dr Kabata (Appendix 2) that demonstrated his obsession with parasitic copepods.Few leaders are as inspirational as Dr Kabata, and his influence on the field of parasitology is profoundly significant and only surpassed by his comradeship and goodwill towards colleagues, students, and others. With this in mind, we thought it fitting to share his acceptance speech with the readership, prefaced by the introductory remarks made by Dr Goater at the recent ASP meeting.r>Readers wishing to learn more about Dr Kabata might avail themselves to an article published in Acta Ichthyologica et Piscatoria (Anonymous 1993) that featured speeches made at the conferral of Dr Kabata′s honorary doctorate by the University of Agriculture in Szczecin, a list of his publications, and a list of scientific taxa named in his honor (these lists are now somewhat dated but still useful). As alluded to by Dr Goater in his opening ceremonial remarks (see below), Dr Kabata′s recent acceptance of ASP′s Eminent Parasitologist Award is just one of a long list of awards and distinctions that he has received since 1993. Students and educators will be especially interested to learn that Dr Kabata was also selected as the first personality featured in a video series focusing on most-influential fisheries scientists. Kabata: Evolution of a Scientist (Langley 2001) is a 29-minute video produced and distributed by the First Fisheries Science Documentary Society, and it traces Dr Kabata′s rich human journey from wartime Poland, to Aberdeen, Scotland, and eventually to the Pacific Biological Station on the west coast of Canada.
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