This year’s SeaKeeper Award ceremony was particularly special as Prince Albert’s father, Prince Rainier III, was SeaKeepers’ second award recipient, and both father and son were strong supporters of the Bal de la Mer from its inception in Monaco. The Bal de la Mer was established to raise money and awareness to support the protection and preservation of the world’s fragile marine environments. Proceeds from the 2010 event will support initiatives led by The International SeaKeepers Society and the Musée Océanographique of Monaco.

Historically, the Principality of Monaco has been an avid proponent of marine conservation and Prince Albert II continues the policy of the Grimaldi family with vigor, using his position to draw the world's attention to the need to protect the marine environment. In 2006, he created the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation to act as an accelerator of environmental projects. In January 2008, his Foundation and the World Wildlife Fund introduced a partnership for the protection of Mediterranean bluefin tuna from ecological extinction. This project aimed to promote responsible consumption, to set up a regional marine sanctuary, and to introduce a scientific campaign geared towards improving scientific knowledge of the threatened species.

Furthering the reigning sovereign’s commitment top preservation of the Mediterranean bluefin, the Monegasque State Services sought to award endangered status to the species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).This was the first time in nearly 20years a nation had called for the inclusion of bluefin under CITES. The status change would have effectively banned international trade in the fish. In a letter to the Wall Street Journal, Prince Albert publicly condemned the common European Union practice of inflated bluefin quotas and called the UN's International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas “an international disgrace.” After much heated debate and opposition, the Monegasque proposition was ultimately rejected, however under the leadership of Prince Albert II, Monaco became the first bluefin tuna-free state.

Prince Albert II has served as the elected President of the Mediterranean Science Commission (CIESM) since 2001. The Commission supports a network of more than 4,000 marine scientists from nearly500 research institutions, applying scientific tools to better understand, monitor and protect the Mediterranean Sea. Prince Albert served as the 2007 International Patron of the UN’s Year of the Dolphin. n2009, he was awarded the Roger Revelle Prizeby Scripps Institution of Oceanography for his efforts to protect the environment and to promote scientific research.

The SeaKeeper Award is given annually to an individual exhibiting an extraordinary commitment to marine conservation. Previous award recipients have included Mikhail Gorbachev, Jean-Michel Cousteau, H.S.H. Prince Rainier III, James Cameron, H.R.H. Prince Khaled, Admiral James D. Watkins (USN ret.), Dr. Sylvia A. Earle, Sir Peter Blake (posthumously), Robert Talbot, Craig O. McCaw, William K. Reilly and Marjorie Stoneman Douglas.