Nainoa Thompson, the first Hawaiian in modern times to successfully navigate a voyaging canoe over vast ocean distances using ancient Polynesian techniques, was honored in Washington, D.C., last week for his work in marine conservation and exploration.

Thompson, president of the Oahu-based Polynesian Voyaging Society, accepted the 2015 Peter Benchley Award for Excellence in Exploration. Other winners this year included U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Prince Albert II of Monaco.

The Benchleys are sometimes called the Academy Awards for the ocean, according to a release. Benchley, the author of "Jaws," was also a staunch advocate for ocean conservation who aimed to educate the public on sharks’ importance to the sea ecology, according to the awards’ website.

Thompson’s honor came days after the Hoku­le‘a, the renowned Hawaiian canoe that he first navigated to Tahiti more than three decades ago, landed in Australia for the first time.

The canoe is about to wrap the first year of its three-year "Malama Honua" voyage around the world — a journey aimed at raising awareness for environmental conservation and cultural harmony.

Thompson accepted the award at the Carnegie Institution for Science. He delivered his remarks to a crowd as images of recent Malama Honua apprentices and navigators, including Toiora Hawira, a New Zealander of Maori descent, and Hawaiian Ka‘iu­lani Murphy were projected behind him.

"It’s the starlight of hope that allows us to sail," Thompson told the audience.

Thompson and several other Polynesian Voyaging Society officials also met with U.S. Interior Department Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs Esther Kia­‘aina on the trip. The Polynesian Voyaging Society group now heads to New York for a fundraiser benefiting the Malama Honua voyage.