PARK CITY, Utah, Dec. 9, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nominet Trust has named OCEARCH a recipient of the 2014 Nominet Trust 100 award. Each year, Nominet Trust brings together 100 of the world's most inspiring examples of social innovation and recognizes the visionaries who are using digital technology to make a real difference to millions of lives.
"We had no idea we had been nominated for this incredible award," said Chris Fischer, expedition leader and founding chairman of OCEARCH. "We are thrilled to be recognized for social innovation, which is core to our mission and that of our partners like Caterpillar and Costa Sunglasses."
Since 2007, there have been 20 global expeditions aboard the M/V OCEARCH vessel, enabling leading researchers and institutions to gather previously unattainable data on great white sharks. The data is then shared in near-real time, for free, through the organization's Global Shark Tracker, enabling anyone and everyone to learn right alongside scientists from around the world.
In 2014, the Global Shark Tracker was incorporated into a free STEM education curriculum for grades 3-5 and 6-8, which will eventually span K-12. This curriculum promotes environmental awareness and prepares students of all ages for careers in science, technology, engineering, and math.
"It is an incredible collaborative effort, involving over 70 researchers and 40 institutions from around the world – and that number is growing," Fischer adds. "We are enablers; the researchers in the field and teachers in the classroom are doing the real work. It's humbling, and we share this with all of our collaborators."
The near-real time-sharing model, leveraging web and mobile technology, has engaged the world in ocean sustainability and sharks. OCEARCH's global media reach exceeded 4.5B in the first half of 2014 based on reporting by MeltWater media monitoring.
Partner DYT Yacht Transport, is currently transporting the unique M/V OCEARCH research vessel to Australia; where it will conduct tiger shark research and community outreach starting in early 2015.
ABOUT OCEARCH
OCEARCH is a non-profit organization with a unique model enabling unprecedented research on great white sharks and other large apex predators in an effort to accelerate global fisheries recovery while inspiring a new generation of environmental stewards through the Global Shark Tracker and a new STEM Education Curriculum. The researchers OCEARCH supports work aboard the M/V OCEARCH, a 126' Cat-powered vessel equipped with a custom 75,000 lb. hydraulic lift and research platform, which serves as both mothership and at-sea laboratory.
OCEARCH expeditions, sponsored in large part by Caterpillar Inc. as part of a socially innovative multi-year partnership to facilitate data that is in turn shared on the Global Shark Tracker with the world for free - enabling students and the public to learn alongside PhDs. The Global Shark Tracker is a web-based near-real-time satellite-tracking tool for sharks that will eventually be expanded to other species. Additional partnership support is provided by Costa Sunglasses, Contender, Yamaha, SAFE Boats, MUSTAD and Landry's Inc.
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