Former Bermuda resident Tony Amos has been honoured for his work with endangered animal species.

The oceanographer, 78, accepted the Recovery Champion award on Wednesday at The University of Texas Marine Science Institute, where he has worked since 1976.

The accolade, which Mr Amos received from the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Endangered Species Programme, recognises his decades-long commitment to conservation.

“A lot of people showed up at the ceremony, which was very gratifying,” he said. “It was really quite extraordinary for me.”

Based on Mustang Island, which borders the Gulf of Mexico, Mr Amos is the founder and director of the Animal Rehabilitation Keep (ARK), situated on the institute’s Port Aransas campus.

“We try to rescue, rehabilitate and ultimately release animals such as sea turtles, pelicans, herons and hawks,” he said.

Tomorrow, as part of ARK’s public education remit, Mr Amos will release 16 sea turtles back into the wild, an event which is sure to attract a large crowd to the beach. “The turtles became ill for various reasons,” he said, explaining that the animals can become entangled in fishing lines and endure sudden drops in ocean temperature due to climate change.

But the turtles’ bad luck can have the unintended benefit of sparking youngsters’ interest in the natural world.

“You can see the look on the children’s faces when they see these turtles up close,” he said. “Public awareness has really increased a lot.”

Born in Surrey, England, Mr Amos was evacuated to the rural South-West county of Devon as a child during the Second World War — where he first developed a passion for nature.

“We got to see the countryside and the birds. That certainly piqued my interest,” he said.

Mr Amos moved with his family to Bermuda in 1954, where he worked for an electronics company on Bluck’s Island trying to invent a new colour television system.

While here, he married Bermudian Lynn Cabral, and the couple is still together 58 years later. They left the Island for the United States in 1962, and visit Bermuda every few years to see family. Despite retiring from the institute in 2003, Mr Amos remains keenly involved as a research fellow and still writes a weekly column on his work for community newspaper The Port Aransas South Jetty.

Next month, he is set to receive another honour.

Having meticulously collected data for more than 35 years on Mustang Island’s wildlife, as well as the human impact on it, he will have a local beach named after him.

“The amount of garbage washing up on the beaches is quite incredible,” he said. “It certainly diminishes the beauty of the beach and it impacts the organisms.

“I wouldn’t say I’m pessimistic, but I’m worried about the future. I hope that some of the things myself and my colleagues have done convince people to be a little more careful with the environment.”