On the evening of Thursday, May 14, 2015, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco attended the 8th Annual Peter Benchley Ocean Awards held at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C.

Named after the late Mr. Peter Benchley, author of the book Jaws and ocean activist, the awards are:

“…are unique in acknowledging outstanding achievement across many sectors of society leading to the protection of our ocean, coasts and the communities that depend on them. 

The awards also celebrates the life and legacy of a man (the late Mr. Peter Benchley) who spent more than 40 years educating the public and expanding awareness of the importance of protecting sharks and ocean ecosystems.

At the heart of every great non-profit, every policy initiative, and every activist success story, are the tireless efforts of extraordinary individuals —marine scientists, policy makers, photo journalists, explorers and activists— who have committed their lives to working on important ocean issues. To date fifty-five Benchley Ocean Award honorees have been recognized for excellence and achievement across many ocean conservation disciplines.

We are deeply grateful that the larger marine community sees the awards as an important factor in bringing world leaders, scientists, and policy makers together to elevate marine conservation on the global agenda and move it forward. It is a humbling testament that they refer to the Benchley Awards as the ‘Academy Awards for the Ocean’.”

During last evening’s ceremony Prince Albert II received the Award for Excellence in National Stewardship for his role in supporting scientific research expeditions and high level collaborations around the important issues of overfishing and climate change.

Earlier in the day, the sovereign prince participated in the panel discussion entitled, The Ocean in 2050, held at National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium in Washington, D.C.

Photos courtesy of Getty Images/K.Connor