Thursday February 17 2005

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority scientist, Dr Laurence McCook, has recently been honoured as the only Australian, this year, to win a prestigious Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation.

The Pew Institute for Ocean Science, based in Miami Florida USA, invites 50 leaders from marine science and conservation to apply for a (US)$150,000 Fellowship to conduct a three-year conservation project. Dr McCook was one of only five applicants to receive the fellowship.

Dr. Ellen Pikitch, Executive Director of the Pew Institute for Ocean Science and a Pew Fellow herself, said the five Pew Fellows chosen this year were remarkable individuals.

“The fellows join a network that has been 15 years in the making. These are true ‘heroes of the sea,’ dedicated to conserving and restoring the largest and most biologically rich place on earth,” Dr Pikitch said.

As GBRMPA Manager of Research and Monitoring Coordination, Dr McCook will expand his expertise in coral reef degradation and explore how managers can support reef resilience in the face of damaging climate change. Climate change is the main cause of mass bleaching of corals.

GBRMPA chair, Virginia Chadwick said Dr McCook’s contribution was very valuable to the ongoing protection of the Great Barrier Reef.

“We are very fortunate to have on our staff a highly dedicated team of marine scientists and researchers. It’s fantastic that Dr McCook has received this international recognition. I’m sure his endeavours will be put to good use not only for the Authority but for all those who care for and cherish the Reef,” Mrs Chadwick said.

Photographs and more information about each of the 2005 Pew Fellows are available by request. Detailed information about all 89 Pew Fellows in Marine Conservation is available at http://www.pewoceanscience.org. Information on Dr McCook’s fellowship is available at http://www.pewmarine.org/pewFellowsDirectoryTemplate.php?PEWSerialInt=10267

The Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation strives to undertake, sponsor, and promote world-class scientific activity aimed at protecting the world's oceans and the species that inhabit them.