2026 Ocean Innovator Awards: Monitoring Kelp Forests, Restoring Coral, and Reducing Whale Bycatch
Organizer: Sea and Shore Solutions and OCTO
Date and Time: Tue, Jun 2, 2026 · 12:00 PM EDT (9:00 AM PDT / 4:00 PM UTC)
Location: Virtual
About This Event: This webinar showcases the three winners of the 2026 Ocean Innovator Awards, an annual recognition for early-career professionals advancing creative solutions in coastal, ocean, and estuarine research. Winners were selected by a panel of expert reviewers across the full breadth of the ocean career field, with projects spanning the Pacific Northwest, East Africa, and the North Atlantic.
Each presenter will walk through their winning project, from nearshore kelp forest monitoring in Oregon to community-led coral restoration in Mozambique to low-cost acoustic monitoring of cetaceans in the Azores.
What to Expect:
- 1st Place: Redefining kelp forest monitoring in Oregon’s nearshore
- 2nd Place: BEAM, youth-led coral restoration in Jangamo Bay, Mozambique
- 3rd Place: CetAcousticsWW, a low-cost drifting buoy for Azores cetacean monitoring
- Live Q&A with all three winners
Panel Presenters / Speakers:
- Wave Moretto, 1st Place, Oregon State University
- Yudmila Chunguane, 2nd Place, Love the Oceans
- Andrea de Moura Milanelli, 3rd Place, The Thünen Institute
Contact or Registration: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Fm8VCuvtREKBQOPGK1Ca8Q