Chicago- NOAA’s Fisheries Service announced that the John G. Shedd Aquarium will receive the Public Education, Community Service, and Media Award for educating and equipping consumers to make good personal decisions about seafood consumption, and educating the public about Great Lakes fisheries.

NOAA will honor a total of eight individuals and organizations for their efforts to enhance the understanding, protection, and sustainable use of U.S. ocean resources. The recognition is part of the agency’s second-annual Sustainable Fisheries Leadership Awards. NOAA leaders will present the awards at a dinner in Washington, D.C., on June 7.

“The health and sustainability of the planet’s ocean resources is of paramount importance for the world’s environmental, economic and human wellbeing,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “The contributions from the award recipients inspire others and enhance NOAA’s marine science and management programs each and every day.”

"It is a tremendous honor to receive this award from a prestigious organization such as NOAA. We are truly excited as conservation education permeates the work we do here at Shedd Aquarium,” said Ted A. Beattie, President/CEO. “The Aquarium has woven its conservation messages through its education, outreach programs, exhibitions, and special events. We have worked very hard on this commitment, bringing together a strong offering of educational programs and awareness.”

Shedd Aquarium’s Right Bite program assists consumers, as they regularly incorporate fish into their diets, in understanding that there are environmental costs associated with some fishing and fish farming methods. With the “right” information, people can feel good knowing that by choosing their seafood more thoughtfully – whether in a restaurant or at a grocery store – they are helping the oceans and helping ensure that there is seafood for the future.

Recipients were selected from 60 nominations in six categories of achievement. This year’s recipients are Don Hansen of Dana Point, Calif., Brian Rothschild of New Bedford, Mass., Don Kent of San Diego, The John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, The Coastal Conservation Association of Texas in Corpus Christi, The World Wildlife Fund in Washington, D.C., Amigos de Bolsa Chica (Friends of Bolsa Chica) in Orange County, Calif. and Nelson Beideman of Barnegat Light, N.J.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects. NOAA Fisheries Service: www.nmfs.noaa.gov