Annual Nature Inspiration Awards recognize our healthy engagement with the natural world
It is a mysterious, arduous and dangerous journey.
Every year, thousands of American eels pull up stakes and travel from the Nova Scotia coastline, more than 2,400 kilometers across the open Atlantic Ocean, to their spawning grounds in the Sargasso Sea, near Bermuda.
While the elusive American eel has been somewhat familiar to residents on the shores of Lake Ontario for decades, this mass migration is still shrouded in mystery—and, for six years, it’s a mystery that’s intrigued scientists at the Ocean Tracking Network.
A team of OTN scientists has been tagging American eels and tracking their migratory patterns and spawning sites. The groundbreaking study is the subject of a documentary film, Eeltrack, which was recently released to the web for public use—and it’s providing critical information for scientists, policymakers and the fishing industry on a threatened iconic species.
“Eels are mysterious and fascinating. We still know little about their oceanic migrations despite many years of research. Hopefully such research will help to protect the species during the oceanic phase of their migration,” says OTN team member Dr. Martin Castonguay of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).
Based at Halifax’s Dalhousie University, OTN brings together researchers and marine experts from around the world to monitor aquatic life. OTN’s global monitoring network is providing the scientific foundation for sustainable oceans management worldwide—and it’s also the latest winner of a Nature Inspiration Award, announced Nov. 9 in Ottawa by the Canadian Museum of Nature.
The annual Nature Inspiration Awards, created in 2014, recognize people, groups and organizations whose leadership, innovation and creativity connect Canadians with nature and the natural world. OTN is the 2016 winner of a Nature Inspiration Award in the Large Not-for-Profit category.
“There are many reasons that drive people and organizations to seek a more healthy engagement with the natural world. This year’s winners reflect the scope of this involvement,” says Meg Beckel, president and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Nature, Canada’s national museum of natural history and natural sciences.
The 2016 Nature Inspiration Awards winners, announced during a gala event hosted by the museum, include:
- Toronto’s John Lounds, president and CEO of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, in the Adult category;
- Ta’Kaiya Blaney of North Vancouver, a wildlife and environmental protection advocate, in the Youth category;
- Ottawa-based environmental sustainability group Natural Step Canada, in the Small to Medium Non-Profit category;
- Toronto’s SK Films, a multimedia production house focused on nature, in the Small to Medium Business category;
- Vancouver’s Teck Resources Ltd., a mining company that’s developed an environmental management strategy, in the Large Business category; and
- Ottawa’s Neal Jotham, a pioneer and innovator of humane animal traps for the fur industry, in the Lifetime Achievement Award category.
Winners receive a $5,000 prize that they designate to a program of their choice.
We take environmental responsibility seriously at Enbridge, and we invest in community programs that promote stewardship, conservation, habitat remediation and education. Enbridge was the presenting sponsor of this year’s Nature Inspiration Awards, and our chief sustainability officer, Linda Coady, was a member of the judging panel.
“These awards recognize the diverse activities and projects that Canadians are undertaking to promote environmental innovation and sustainability,” says Coady.
(TOP PHOTO: Ocean Tracking Network scientists Drs. Julian Dodson, Martin Castonguay and Mélanie Béguer-Pon prepare an eel for release. Photo courtesy Drs. Shilian Shang and Mélanie Béguer-Pon)
