Ocean Heroes Award

The Ocean Heroes Award was created by marine conservation organization Oceana in 2009 to recognize an exceptional personal commitment to ocean conservation^[1]. The first award recipient was announced on World Oceans Day, June 8, which the United Nations officially recognized starting in 2008.

The 2011 Adult Ocean Hero is Peter Wallerstein, the program director at Marine Animal Rescue (MAR), a project of Friends of Animals. In 1985, Wallerstein founded the Whale Rescue Team, which is now part of MAR, and has been working to rescue stranded and entangled marine life in Los Angeles county ever since.

The 2011 Junior Ocean Hero is Sophi Bromenshenkel, an 8-year-old from Richfield, Minnesota who has raised over $3,500 for shark conservation efforts^[2][3]. Her funds, which she acquired by selling hot chocolate and cookies and campaigning in her local community, help pay for satellite tags on sharks through her partnership with the University of Miami’s RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program.

The 2010 Adult Ocean Hero was Jay Holcomb, the Executive Director of the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC). Holcomb has dedicated the last 24 years to seabird rehabilitation and oiled wildlife response and has led IBRRC’s oiled wildlife rescue team on over 200 oil spill responses around the world.

The 2010 Junior Ocean Hero Winners were the Shark Finatics, a group of students at Green Chimneys School in Brewster, New York who raised more than $2,000 for shark research and conservation organizations around the world - and an immeasurable amount of awareness about shark finning.

The first winner, announced on World Oceans Day, June 8, 2009, was John Halas, a marine biologist and manager of the Upper Region of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Halas has been working to protect coral systems in Florida since 1981. He developed an environmentally friendly anchor and mooring buoy system that prevents damage to coral reefs and has worked to implement this anchorage system in 38 countries.

References

1. ^ http://na.oceana.org/en/news-media/press-center/press-releases/oceana-announces-winners-of-its-inaugural-ocean-heroes-award, press release, Oceana, June 8, 2009
2. ^ http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/news-events/press-releases/2011/8-year-old-sophi-bromenshenkel-named-2011-oceana-ocean-hero/, University of Miami, June 9, 2011
3. ^ http://ocean.si.edu/blog/saving-sharks-and-dolphins-near-and-far, Smithsonian Institution, June 9, 2011

External links

(http://planetgreen.discovery.com/travel-outdoors/on-world-oceans-day-celebrate-the-2010-ocean-heroes-winners.html)