The grand prize includes a $200 award and the winner's cartoon strip will be displayed on Monterey-Salinas Transit buses and MBNMS's web site. Other prizes include free passes to the aquarium and "Aquarium Adventures" programs, gift cards to the aquarium's bookstore and the chance to learn tips from a professional cartoonist at the aquarium's annual "Dia del Nino" event on Sunday, April 15.

This contest helps promote the global importance of clean water. The aquarium's newest special exhibition, Wild About Otters, which opens March 31, will show visitors how all waterways are connected and how all creatures around the world need clean water to thrive and survive.

The MBNMS is the largest marine protected area of ocean waters and home to one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world. The Monterey Bay Aquarium displays jewels of Monterey Bay as a way to connect visitors with the ocean and inspire conservation. -- www.mbayaq.org