Date: February 7, 2005
Contact: Jim Harper,
305-421-4165,
jharper@rsmas.miami.edu
HEROES OF THE SEA, PEW FELLOWS’ FIFTEENTH CLASS TACKLE SHARKS,
REEFS, MANGROVES AND MORE
Miami, Florida, USA – The Pew Institute for Ocean Science is honored to announce this
year’s winners of Pew Fellowships in Marine Conservation, the field’s leading award.
The 2005 Pew Fellows are:
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Shankar Aswani, USA
Miriam Fernandez, Chile
Sarah Fowler, United Kingdom
Laurence McCook, Australia
Jurgenne Primavera, Philippines.
Each Pew Fellow receives $150,000 to conduct a three-year conservation project, and
they join the world’s leading network for ocean science and conservation. Celebrating its
15th anniversary, the Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation has selected 89 Pew
Fellows from over 20 countries who have completed projects across the globe. Their
fellowships are funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
“The Pew Fellows chosen this year are remarkable individuals, and they join a network
that has been 15 years in the making,” says Dr. Ellen Pikitch, Executive Director of the
Pew Institute for Ocean Science at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School, and a
Pew Fellow herself. “These are true ‘heroes of the sea,’ dedicated to conserving and
restoring the largest and most biologically rich place on earth.”
An international committee of marine specialists selected the 2005 Pew Fellows based on
their potential to protect ocean environments. Each Pew Fellow will tackle a unique
challenge, as outlined below:
Dr. Shankar Aswani, an Associate Professor at the University of California, Santa
Barbara, will use his Pew Fellowship to work with communities in the western Pacific’s
Solomon Islands. Through education and collaboration, he aims to establish a network of
Marine Protected Areas designed to preserve resources and vulnerable species such as
coconut crabs, sea turtles, and sea cows.
Dr. Miriam Fernandez, an Associate Professor at the Pontifica Catholic University of
Chile, seeks to understand and protect the earliest stages of marine life. By analyzing the
movement of eggs and larvae along coastal Chile, she hopes to promote more effective
Marine Protected Areas.
Ms. Sarah Fowler is the Director of Marine and Coastal Ecology for NatureBureau
International, based in the United Kingdom. A shark specialist, she will use her Pew
Fellowship to protect dwindling populations through international agreements.
Dr. Laurence McCook is the Manager of Research and Monitoring Coordination for the
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in Australia. During his three-year fellowship,
McCook will expand his expertise in coral reef algae and explore how managers can
support reef health in the face of damaging climate change.
Dr. Jurgenne Primavera is a mangrove specialist and a Researcher in the Southeast
Asian Fisheries Development Center in the Philippines. Primavera’s work will
demonstrate that protecting mangroves can save lives and property from destructive
typhoons, filter out silt runoff that kills coral reefs, provide nurseries to juvenile fish and
shrimp, and renew fisheries catches.
Photographs and more information about each of the 2005 Pew Fellows are available by
request. Detailed information about all 89 Pew Fellows in Marine Conservation is
available at http://www.pewmarine.org.
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The Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation is part of the Pew Institute for Ocean
Science, in partnership with the University of Miami. The Pew Institute for Ocean
Science strives to undertake, sponsor, and promote world-class scientific activity aimed
at protecting the world's oceans and the species that inhabit them.