Marina Cummisky won the Youth Award for “Best Treatment of a Complicated Subject” with her film Kodiak Crab Divers and Hatchery Red King Crab.
Marina Cummiskey is a home school student in Kodiak, Alaska. She was 14 when she made the film.
This film documents the first experimental release of hatchery-raised red king crab into the wild, conducted by Kodiak NOAA divers in 2013. Underwater video and photographs guide the viewer through the crabs’ journey and the release techniques while kodiak crab researchers describe the project and discuss the future of rehabitation of crab stocks in Alaska waters.
Marina Cummiskey, a freshman at Kodiak High School, has produced several documentaries about issues significant to her community. Kodiak Crab Divers and Hatchery Red King Crab was put together in April 2014 from footage shot by her father, Pete Cummiskey, a NOAA biologist and one of the divers featured in the film. The film was presented at a local marine science symposium and has since generated interest within NOAA at regional and national levels. Marina’s interest in journalism continues to grow as she gains experience in various media forms, including being a news intern at Kodiak’s local public radio station, KMXT.
Marina’s prize for the AOOS film contest was a go-pro camera.