OleoCatch is an award-winning ecological project developed by Southern Baja California students designed to capture oil and hydrocarbon spills in aquatic environments using recycled fibers. The project gained international recognition after winning the Mexican Premio Nacional Juvenil del Agua 2026 (National Youth Water Prize), earning its creators a spot to represent Mexico at the Stockholm Junior Water Prize later this month on August 25, in Stockholm, Sweden.
Addressing Chronic Micro-Spills
Over the years, many projects submitted to the Stockholm Junior Water Prize have led to impactful innovations such as improving lives not only for the participants but also for their communities. OleoCatch addresses a silent, continuous ecological threat of chronic micro-spills. These are minor daily leaks of fuel and lubricants from tourist boats, fishing vessels, and docks that accumulate in marinas and coastal areas, depleting water oxygen levels and harming marine habitats.
Youngest Winners Ever
Omar Quijano, and his partner, Mikaela Benitez, won first place in the Mexico Junior Water Prize, from among 490 projects entered nationwide. Thanks to this achievement, they now have the honor of representing our country and this BCS region at the Stockholm event—internationally recognized as the “Junior Nobel Prize for Water.”
The young innovators are participating with OleoCatch, a sustainable project that proposes using palm fiber and human hair to absorb and remove hydrocarbons spilled in water, contributing to the care of our seas, marine areas, and ecosystems.
Community Support Needed
In addition to competing for the international prize, they are participating in the People’s Choice Award—an honor that will be granted to the project receiving the most public support. They are reaching out to the Los Cabos community, hoping you can help them share the voting link and invite the people of Baja California Sur and Mexico to support these talented youngsters.
“For us, every vote represents much more than a simple choice. It signifies support for science, youthful talent, environmental stewardship, and our hard work,” said Quijano. “We are supporting areas that have an excess of palm waste, like the Estuary of San Jose, where the dry palms represent a high risk of fire. By elaborating our project with those materials we support the prevention of these potential fires and the care of the endemic species that live in this type of ecosystem.”
How to Vote
Omar Quijano, and Mikaela Benitez, recently turned 15 years old, making them the youngest ever to win this prize and earning the honor to represent Mexico at the international stage. “In the link to vote, people have to look up the country of Mexico and register their email to vote for our project,” added Quijano. https://stockholmwaterfoundation.org/stockholm-junior-water-prize/community/vote/
