The champions of the sea in the honor at the gala

The Caymanian Pacific Warriors were in force on Saturday night at the annual Sea Festival Gala, hosted by the Central Caribbean Marine Institute.

This year the organizers have added a reward element to the event, recognizing the people who have played a vital role in preserving the health of the oceans over the past year.

The Gala also marked another milestone for CCMI. who is turning 20 this year.

Aaron Hunt, Community Coral Champion, was honored on Saturday for his work in organizing dive groups to help grow and restore coral on local reefs and to raise awareness of the importance of healthy reef.

Janice Blumenthal, who works at the Ministry of the Environment, has been named "Change Creator of the Year" for her work on planning for turtle-friendly lighting, while Johanna Kohler, who also works with the DoE, received an award for his Science and Research project. Year for his research on sharks.

The Tourism Advocate of the Year Award was awarded to the Royal Palms Beach Club for its "Do not Suck" paper straw initiative, while Butterfield was honored by the Society's Conservation Society. the sea air of the year for its Seabins project.

Claire Hughes, of Plastic-Free Cayman, won the People's Choice Award for her efforts in organizing the beach cleaning and other initiatives to reduce plastic waste found on the island.

According to the CCIC, the awards have been awarded to "inspired leaders, bold innovators, creative thinkers and those who generously and relentlessly donate their time and talents. This network of committed individuals and organizations is pushing us to think bigger, to go further and to look for better solutions to realize our vision of a world composed of dynamic and dynamic oceans. healthy coral reefs. "

The judges were Katie Alpers, Nadia Hardie, Natalie Urquhart, Catherine Childs and Nicoela McCoy.

Alexandra Cousteau, granddaughter of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, filmmaker, explorer and advocate for water rights, was invited to speak at the gala held at the Grand Old House.

During the Gala, the CCMI highlighted its "call to action", which includes a commitment to strengthen regional coral restoration by maintaining two major restoration sites and developing 1,000 corals in its nurseries; involve hundreds of local children in two major coral restoration activities in Grand Cayman; creation of a documentary showing how restoration can strengthen wild coral populations on local reefs; and support three speakers at the CCMI Coral Reef Discovery Series in Grand Cayman next year, which will be broadcast live.

To learn more, visit https://reefresearch.org.