Shorelines play a vital role in ocean health, but they’re also the areas most susceptible to human disruption. Unnatural structures like sea walls and roads disrupt a beach’s ability to sustain itself, inhibiting and sometimes destroying important plantlife and fish species in the process.

But figuring out which shorelines need to be protected and which need to be restored is not simple. Science is the essential underpinning for identifying critical habitat. The SeaDoc Society is awarding the prestigious 2022 Salish Sea Science Prize to Tina Whitman, Science Director at the Friends of the San Juans for producing science that led to copious beach habitat protection and restoration throughout the San Juan Islands. Whitman will receive the no-strings-attached $2,000 cash prize at the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference on April 28.