SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Jennifer McCann, director of U.S. coastal programs for the University of Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Center, has been awarded the 2017 Peter Benchley Ocean Award in the Excellence in Solutions category for her R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan.
McCann, also an extension director of the Rhode Island Sea Grant, said in a statement: “I really feel that this has been a team effort with my colleagues at CRC, Sea Grant and [Coastal Resources Management Council], our host of partners and the people of Rhode Island.”
This is the first time in the 10-year history of the international prize that a Rhode Islander has been chosen.
The Ocean SAMP is a document which provides regulations used to manage the Rhode Island’s ocean resources. It has resulted in the first offshore windfarm in the nation and increased protection for fishing, marine trades and conservation.
For his leadership of the Ocean SAMP project, Grover Fugate, executive director of the state Coastal Resources Management Council, was also recognized.
According to a statement sent by URI, the judges lauded the honorees for “enabling us for the first time ever to make smarter, better coordinated planning decisions for long-term enhancement of our shared ocean resources, including fisheries stocks, transportation channels and the leasing, permitting and development of offshore energy projects.”
Also honored in the 2017 circuit were U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn.; Susi Pudjiastuti, the Republic of Indonesia’s minister of marine affairs, and Robin Alden, founding executive director of the Penobscot East Resource Center in Maine.
McCann and Fugate will receive their awards during a May 11 ceremony at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.
The awards, which are named in honor of the author of “Jaws,” celebrate Benchley’s 40-year devotion to protecting sharks, ecosystems and oceans.
