POLA Director Receives Conservation Award

Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Geraldine Knatz has been named the 2012 recipient of the Blue Frontier Campaign’s Peter Benchley Ocean Award for  “Excellence in Solutions.”

The Blue Frontier Campaign is a national marine conservation activist organization working to improve ocean policies in coastal states. The Peter Benchley Award is named in honor of lifetime marine wildlife conservationist Peter Benchley, best known for writing the bestseller novel ‘Jaws’ in 1974.

Knatz was recognized for her environmental efforts as executive director of the Port of Los Angeles and her role as president of the International Association of Ports and Harbors where she has become a global leader in the Greening Ports movement. She will receive her award at a ceremony Friday night in San Francisco.

“Combining her savvy as a long time port official and her knowledge as a marine biologist and environmental engineer, Dr. Knatz has transformed ‘America’s Port®,’ at Los Angeles into ‘America’s Greenest Port,’” said David Helvarg, co-founder and executive director of the Blue Frontier Campaign. “Through collaboration with the neighboring Port of Long Beach, she has led successful efforts to clean the air and water, demonstrating the link between environmental clean-up and economic prosperity.”

The fifth annual Peter Benchley Ocean Awards acknowledge the broad range of achievement in the ocean and coastal community, providing a way to celebrate outstanding achievements that lead to the protection of our coasts, oceans, and the communities that depend on them.