Take the Ocean Hero Pledge

Being an Ocean Hero can mean many things. Mostly it means deciding that you are ready to take action to protect our oceans for people and creatures today and for generations to come. Our 2013 Ocean Hero Award winners have done amazing things, but they didn’t start at that level. The road to that kind of impact starts with things like:

• Contacting elected officials to start convincing them that a problem needs to be fixed.
• Doing a small fundraising drive at school
• Talking to a friend about eating only sustainable seafood (wild, local, little, shellfish, no shrimp)
• Studying marine science in college or, for younger students, doing an ocean project for a science fair

There are so many ways to begin the journey to be an Ocean Hero. Take the pledge below and start taking action for the oceans today!

What does being an ocean hero mean to you? What could you do to help the oceans?

The 2013 Ocean Hero Awards go to…

Jean Beasley and Rory & Maeve McCracken!

Jean Beasley, from Topsail Island, North Carolina, started the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in 2007. Over the last five years, Jean and her volunteers rehabilitated and released more than 300 turtles back into the wild. They’ve also won stronger regulatory protections for sea turtles in North Carolina and worked to educate the public about the threats to wild sea turtles. Beasley and her team are building a new turtle hospital with funds raised solely by her team of volunteers. The $2 million-project will open later this year.

Rory (14) and Maeve (10) McCracken of Baton Rouge, Louisiana witnessed the 2010 Gulf Oil spill’s devastation firsthand. When they realized that there weren’t many opportunities for kids to help clean up local shores, they started kidslovethegulf.org and encouraged other young people to get involved. The siblings raised $8,000 for a marine mammal and turtle rescue program, and even wrote and published their own book: G is for Gulf.

The Award

The Ocean Hero Awards started in 2009 as a way for Oceana to recognize and celebrate exceptional accomplishments in ocean conservation, advocacy, and education. Every summer Oceana recognizes individuals in adult and junior categories who exemplify this heroic spirit. We are continually impressed and inspired by the work of all of our incredible nominees and finalists.

There’s no lack of diversity within the pool of Ocean Heroes. Nominees have come from all over the country and have made many different kinds of contributions to the world’s oceans. Previous finalists have done everything from educational outreach to political advocacy to promoting sustainable seafood, and we can’t wait to see what’s next!

Oceana looks for the heroes that work within your communities to protect the oceans, whether you’re near the ocean in Hawaii or California, or thousands of miles away in the Midwest.

Learn more about the past Ocean Heroes and finalists and follow the heroes on our blog. The 2013 Ocean Hero Awards are proudly supported by by Nautica, JW Marriott, Outside Television, and Revo Sunglasses.

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