Honolulu, Hawai‘i—The Voice of the Sea television series, produced by the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program (Hawai‘i Sea Grant), took home a record ten Telly Awards in the 46^th annual competition, the world’s largest honor for video and television across all screens.

The Voice of the Sea series, now in its 12^th season, won awards across five categories, including Sustainability, Educational Institution, Science and Technology, Culture & Lifestyle, and Public Interest & Awareness. The Telly Awards Judging Council, who select the winning entries, reflects the variety and global nature of the industry and includes jurors from leading global businesses such as Roku Brand Studio, MediaPro, Pluto TV, and Open Television, among many others.

This year, the Telly Awards received over 13,000 entries from across the globe for this year’s theme “Stories Take Shape,” focused on blending traditional storytelling techniques with emerging formats. The theme aligns perfectly with the intention of Voice of the Sea, which shares the unique moʻolelo of people and place throughout the pae ʻāina of Hawai‘ and across the Pacific, featuring stunning visuals and one-on-one conversations with the scientists and cultural practitioners highlighted in each episode. This past season, Voice of the Sea covered topics spanning deep sea exploration, to bacteria in near-shore waters, to native bird conservation—as well as stories of aquaculture and marine science from Hawaiʻi, American Samoa, the Gulf Coast, and the Atlantic.

“Ten Tellys is a huge accomplishment, I’m so excited for everyone whose work was profiled in these episodes,” said Dr. Kanesa Duncan Seraphin, Voice of the Sea host and co-producer. “These awards honor our tremendous partners and the amazing scientific, community, and conservation work they are doing. I hope these awards encourage everyone to check out the episodes, learn more, and get involved,”

Multiple award-winning episodes:

Farming Clams and Sponges, produced in collaboration with Florida Sea Grant, journeys to the Gulf Coast to learn about farming clams, oysters, and sponges. This episode garnered awards in the Sustainability category (silver) as well as Public Interest & Awareness (bronze).

Waiale‘e Lako Pono shares the rich cultural history of Waiale‘e on the north shore of O‘ahu and the efforts to rehabilitate its 30-acre wetland. This episode was awarded a Silver Telly in the Sustainability Category and a bronze in Culture & Lifestyle.

EXPORTS 6: Miami features the final leg of EXPORTS, a revolutionary, scientific undertaking by NASA and the National Science Foundation to understand the carbon cycle and the fate of the carbon in the deep ocean in order to predict future climate conditions. This episode, which is a culmination of six episodes in the series dating back to the start of the EXPORTS field work in 2018, won both a Silver Telly in the Educational Institution category as well as a bronze in Science and Technology, for a total of five Telly Awards for EXPORTS episodes, including a Gold Telly Award won for the first EXPORTS episode On Board the Sally Ride.

Silver Telly winner:

Raising Pua, Raising Community celebrates the revitalization of ʻamaʻama (mullet) through efforts to raise puaʻama (baby mullet) for stocking loko iʻa (traditional Hawaiian fishponds), and was awarded a Silver Telly in the Sustainability category.

Bronze Telly winners:

Hadal Profiler features a new science tool that dives down to the deepest part of the ocean, conducting scientific measurements and capturing sound and live video. The Hadal Profiler is being developed by University of Hawai‘i SOEST researchers and students; the episode took home a Bronze Telly in Science & Technology.

Living Shorelines of American Samoa travels to American Samoa to learn about community projects that are helping to bring back abundant natural resources and protect nearshore ecosystems, and was awarded a Bronze Telly in Culture & Lifestyle.

Pacific Biosciences Research Center visits research labs at the Pacific Biosciences Research Center (PBRC) at UH Mānoa to explore how we can improve ocean, health, fight human diseases, and protect native birds. The episode was awarded a Bronze Telly in Science & Technology.