Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation gives $3 million grant to Oceana advocacy group

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In this Dec. 15, 2013 photo, American actor Leonardo DiCaprio poses for a portrait, in New York. DiCaprio has been nominated for three other Academy Awards, starting with a supporting actor bid for playing a teen with autism in the 1993 drama “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.” This year, with his Oscar nomination for "The Wolf of Wall Street," he’s up against lead actors Christian Bale, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Bruce Dern and Matthew McConaughey, who is considered DiCaprio’s biggest threat for his portrayal of a rodeo-loving Texan with HIV in “Dallas Buyers Club.” (Photo by Victoria Will/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK, N.Y. – International advocacy group Oceana says it has received a $3 million grant from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation for its work to protect threatened ocean habitat and keystone marine species such as sharks.

Oceana said in a statement Thursday the grant, which will be spread over a three-year period, will also support its work to advocate for responsible fishing measures, including a ban on California drift gillnets.

CEO Andy Sharpless said DiCaprio’s support will help Oceana in its efforts to win more protections for countless sharks and other marine animals and for ocean habitats in the Pacific and Arctic, “which include some of the most productive ocean places in the world.”

Oceana said it’s working to ban drift gillnets off California in order to protect dolphins, whales, turtles and other marine animals from being caught and killed as “bycatch.”

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http://www.leonardodicaprio.org

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