Oceana aids at the blue carpet

The Ocean Heroes Award was created by Oceana in 2009 to recognize an exceptional personal commitment to ocean conservation.

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, who won a $500 Nautica gift certificate and an outgoing voicemail greeting by Ted Danson, 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.

Bob Schoelkopf was the runner-up for his work rescuing and rehabilitating seals, dolphins, sea turtles and other marine animals in New Jersey. Shark expert Andy Dehart earned the third most votes for his work educating the public about sharks.

Other finalists included Girl Scouts Chanel Gemini, Nika Kashyap and Sabina Van Tilburg from Hawaii; teenage anti-pollution activist Emily Goldstein from Louisville, KY, South Florida coral reef steward Lynora Indiviglio, legendary ocean educator Jeff “Mr. Fish” Sandler from Maine and Casey Sokolovic, an 11-year-old grassroots sea turtle activist from North Carolina.

You can learn more about the 2010 contest at http://oceana.org/heroes, where you can take a pledge for ocean conservation and vote on this year’s incredible finalists.

For information about sponsorships opportunities, please contact Jon Frank at jfrank@oceana.org or call 202-467-1949.