THE A.G. HUNTSMAN AWARD was established in 1980 by the Canadian marine science community to recognize excellence of research and outstanding contributions to marine sciences. It is presented by the Royal Society of Canada. The award honours marine scientists of any nationality who have had and continue to have a significant influence on the course of marine scientific thought. The Award is named in honour of Archibald Gowanlock Huntsman (1883– 1973), a pioneer Canadian oceanographer and fishery biologist.
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The A.G. Huntsman Award was established through principal contributions from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the Province of Nova Scotia, and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.  Additional endowment was granted by the LiFT Family Fund through Gift Funds Canada.
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The Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia is Honorary Patron of the A.G. Huntsman Award.

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS 2025

We invite the marine science community to nominate deserving candidates for consideration for this award representing any field within marine sciences. Nominees should be within 30 years of receipt of their PhD.

​The deadline for submitting a Letter of Intent is April 4, 2025.
December 3, 2024, Government House
Front Row (Left to Right)
  - Dr. William Cheung, UBC
  - The Honourable Arthur J. LeBlanc, ONS, KC
  - Her Honour Patsy LeBlanc
  - Dr. Alice Ortmann, A.G. Huntsman Foundation
Back Row (Left to Right)
  - Dr. S. Karly Kehoe, Royal Society of Canada
  - Prof. Boris Worm, Dalhousie University
  - Francine Desharnais, Bedford Institute of Oceanography

2024 A.G. HUNTSMAN AWARD

The 2024 A.G. Huntsman Medal was awarded to Dr. William Cheung in recognition of his outstanding achievements in research focused on climate change, biodiversity and ocean sustainability as well as his efforts to connect marine sciences to the social sciences. Dr. Cheung’s work recognizes the interdependence of ocean systems and human systems and that the scale of climate change impacts range from local to global, as do the needs for solutions.
​Award Citation
The photograph on the website header shows the CSS Hudson in Scott Inlet, Baffin Island, on September 6, 1977. The cliffs in the background are 300 or more metres high. In the fall of 1976, Bedford Institute of Oceanography scientists had observed an oil slick off the Inlet but because of ice conditions at the time they were unable to locate its source or to determine its extent.  So in 1977 and again in 1978, CSS Hudson returned to measure the background levels of petroleum residues in the eastern Arctic and also to investigate the geology of the Baffin Island shelf. Together, the chemical and geological studies demonstrated that the slick at Scott Inlet is the result of natural seepage of petroleum from the walls and bottom of the submarine trough that cuts across the continental shelf in this area.  This image of CSS Hudson appears on the Huntsman Medal.  Photograph by Roger Belanger.