SeaKeeper Award Granted to Fabien Cousteau

Jean-Michel Cousteau and Fabien Cousteau are, of course, famed members of the equally famed Cousteau family. But, first and foremost, they are father and son. And the father (background, at left in the photo) surprised his son (center) at the annual International SeaKeepers Society Bal de la Mer last week. Jean-Michel Cousteau presented him with the ocean-advocacy organization’s prestigious SeaKeeper Award.

The arrangement was fitting for yet another reason. Jean-Michel Cousteau was the first recipient of the SeaKeeper Award, given to ardent ocean conservationists and preservationists, in 1996.

The list of honorees recognized by the International SeaKeepers Society over the years reads like the who’s who of ocean advocacy. They include the non-profit Sargasso Sea Alliance, Prince Albert II of Monaco, the late Walter Cronkite, director James Cameron, and marine biologist and explorer Sylvia Earle.

Fabien Cousteau was praised for a long list of contributions. These include his Mission 31 expedition in the Florida Keys last year. It was a record-setting, 31-day underwater living and working experiment. He and his team documented their days and shared them via YouTube and other channels. Schoolchildren further engaged via satellite with them dozens of times. Related to this, the Fabien Cousteau Ocean Learning Center, in the Florida Keys, is under construction, to teach children around the world about the ocean. It will additionally connect them with him and other researchers via social media when it opens next year.

Jean-Michel Cousteau connected with the parents in the crowd, comprised of megayacht owners and yachting-industry representatives passionate about ocean preservation, by relaying a story from when his son was four years old. One day, he asked Fabien what he would like to eat. The reply: “Dad, I would like Kentucky Fried Chicken.” As dads are wont to do, Jean-Michel went to go find the local fast-food establishment. Upon his return, he says, “Fabien was with a neighbor at the bottom of the pool, doing buddy breathing.” He added, with a tinge of envy, that he himself only learned to dive when he was seven—though he’s being doing it for 70 years. That drew applause nearly as loud as when Fabien accepted his award.

The International SeaKeepers Society’s supporters had additional reason to be pleased that evening. Silent auction items ranging from sports memorabilia to fashion to one-of-a-kind travel experiences raised $30,000 for the non-profit.

Here are a few scenes from the evening’s festivities.