by Erin Loury

Science Communication Intern/M.S. Candidate at Moss Landing Marine Labs

The National Marine Sanctuary Awards Dinner has all the glitter and star wattage of an ocean-themed Academy Awards.  Malin and I were fortunate enough to attend along with the rest of the Center for Ocean Solutions team as part of Capitol Hill Ocean Week.

Also in attendance were such ocean luminaries as Jane Lubchenco (head of NOAA), Julie Packard (Executive Director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium), Lt. Don Walsh (one of two explorers to reach the bottom of the Marianas Trench),  Robert Ballard (discoverer of the Titanic), Sylvia Earle (ocean explorer and TED prize winner), and the family of Jacques Cousteau.

Amid food, wine and achievement awards, and the marking of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation’s first 10 years of service, the evening was at once celebratory and somber.   Our ocean revelry could not ignore the grim tragedy still unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico.   Many presenters and award recipients spoke passionately about the need for action, seeking to further galvanize a room full of ocean champions. 

 As put by Jean-Michel Cousteau, “It’s time for no more “Blah blah blah” and time for action, action, action!”  He also remarked that the leaders to pave the way are sitting in this room – and what a humbling and inspiring room to be a part of! 

How fitting that the evening should fall on the 100^th birthday of Jaques-Yves Cousteau, the pioneer who opened up the ocean to the world through SCUBA, television, and more.  Sitting at every place setting was a characteristic bright red knit cap (as parodied in The Life Aquatic!) in honor of the famous explorer.  With the Cousteau dynasty gathered around him on stage, artist Robert Lyn Nelson unveiled a custom painting to honor Jaques Cousteau.  The audience donned their caps in a standing ovation like a bright field of strawberry anemones.

A special treat for me at the end of the dinner was the chance to meet Julie Packard (who received the evening’s lifetime achievement award) and Sylvia Earle in person.   I had to travel all the way to Washington to meet Julie for the first time, but I took the opportunity to tell her that visiting to the Monterey Bay Aquarium when I was young inspired me to become a marine scientist – and I meant it.  “That’s what we love to hear,” she said with a laugh.   (I left out the part about seeing a sunfish at the aquarium also inspiring some maudlin 7th grade poetry.)

For many, becoming a marine biologist, or devoting one’s life the ocean is a pipe dream – it was certainly little more than a nebulous longing in my 12-year-old self as I stood in the Monterey Bay Aquarium staring at a sunfish.   Sitting at the awards dinner in my bright red beanie, sharing space with a room full of people who have inspired me with their work, was one of those “take stock” moments – looking backwards and forwards at the same time.   But the time for back-patting and congratulations is fleeting – this is a call to action.  Facing a future for the ocean wrought with challenges and uncertainty, we all need good doses of inspiration more than ever.