The prize with which the organization of the Encounter of the Seas recognizes the work of a person, collective or organization in defense of the seas, the Sartún Prize - the official mascot of the Encounter with a hybrid name between sardine and tuna - will travel this year to the United States, although with a Spanish seal. The winner is National Geographic's Pristine Seas Project, which, in collaboration with Enric Sala and Manu San Félix, seeks to identify, protect and restore the last truly wild places in the oceans.

Dr. Sala launched Pristine Seas in 2008 and, to date, has helped create 22 marine reserves eminently in the Pacific Ocean (in the Palau Sanctuary, the Galapagos Islands or Pitcairn, the Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park or Cape Horn) but also in the Atlantic (Portuguese Wild Islands), Indian Ocean (Seychelles) or Arctic (Russian Arctic National Park), covering a total area of 5.8 million square kilometres. Pristine Seas is one of the key initiatives of the National Geographic Society, the largest non-profit environmental protection partner in the world.

Sala, a Catalan marine biologist, was the first Spaniard to become a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, the organization's top research and exploration category. He is now the leader of Pristine Seas, where he is accompanied by Manu San Felix, a marine biologist from Madrid and underwater documentalist for the project, who is in charge of bringing to light the wonders hidden at the bottom of the sea.

As the project explains, the ocean that covers 70 percent of the planet's surface acts as a support for life on Earth. It provides more than half of the oxygen we breathe and regulates the earth's climate. The fishing industry employs more than 180 million people and provides food for billions around the world, while offering us educational, tourism and leisure opportunities. That is why it must be preserved. That is what Pristine Seas is dedicated to, and that is why it will be rewarded.

Last year, in its first edition, the Sartun prize went to the Global Fishing Watch, a platform financed by the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation that geolocates boats around the world to fight illegal fishing.