Top 15 ocean animals need protection

Top 15 ocean animals need protection

Over 70 percent of the surface of our planet is its oceans and they are an awe-inspiring composition of life. From the sunlit surface to the bottomless dark, they are so varied as to span the imagination. But there is an undercurrent. Many of the activities of humankind are threatening the existence of countless species of the ocean and driving them to extinction. Knowledge of the species that are most at risk is the initial pathway to establishing conservation and bringing about change.

1. Whales

The vaquita is the sad record holder of the title of the most threatened marine mammal in the world. With its numbers estimated at less than 10 individuals, the entire population of this tiny porpoise can be found in the northern Gulf of California. Its devastating demise is confined to bycatch alone- they accidentally get entangled in the illegal gillnets placed to trap totoaba fish, another endangered species.

 

2. North Atlantic Right Whale

Just about 360 of these huge trees remain. They have been hunted in the past to near extinction, and now contemporary challenges of vessel collision and bycatch addiction in commercial fishing. Their low rate of producing young ones implies that each death is a terrible blow on the recovery of the species.

3. Hawksbill Sea- Bartle

The hawksbill sea turtle has always been critically endangered due to the beautifully patterned shell which is still traded illegally as tortoiseshell. They also are susceptible to the habitat loss of coral reefs and beaches in which they nest, as well as bycatch.

4. Blue Whale

The blue whale, the largest animal to have ever lived on the earth remains on the endangered list. Although commercial whaling bans have assisted their populations to grow at a slow rate, they are now at risk of being hit by ships, ocean noise, as well as effects of climate change on their food source, krill.

5. Whale Shark 

Preying on them are sharks that despite their sheer size are prey to even larger items such as whales. They are hunted as a source of their fins, meat, and oil and are still vulnerable to collisions with ships. Their movements are migratory, and this puts them into contact with fishing vessels in high rates of bycatch.

6. Bluefin Tuna Fish Southern

It is a living illustration of a very extreme overfishing. One of the most prized fish in the world sushi market, its population has been reduced over the years by mass-scale unsustainable fishing. Although stringent global quotas are in place currently, the process of recovery is not easy and gradual.

7. Hawaiian monk seal

Having a population of just about 1,500 people, this is one of the most critically endangered marine mammals. Endangered, there are numerous forces against them, including food shortage, entanglement, shark attacks, and the disappearance of their pupping beaches because of sea level rise.

8. Kemp Ridley sea Turtle

The Kemp Ridley turtle is the most threatened sea creature. They have unique mass nesting sites known as arribadas which makes them and their eggs highly susceptible to poaching and other interference to the environment. Shrimp bycatch trawls continue to be a threat.

9. European Eel

The species has experienced a huge population collapse of more than 90% of the population since the 1980s. The factors are varied: overfishing (of both adults and glass eels), habitat destruction (through dams and other barriers on rivers), pollution, and shifts in the movement of ocean currents as a result of climate change.

10. Scalloped Hammerhead Shark

The demand of the shark's fin has put these eyed creatures in a critical endangered status. Their inclination to grow into big schools easily draws fishing fleets on them. They are also taken in other fisheries in large numbers as bycatch.

11. Huge Manta Ray

These smart, elegant giants are hunted based on their gill plates that are under false values in traditional medicine. They reproduce slowly (only having one pup in 2-5 years) giving them high susceptibility to overfishing.

9. European Eel

Since the 1980s, this species experienced a devastating decrease in the population that amounts to more than 90 per cent. The reasons are varied: overfishing (of adults and of the glass eels), loss of habitat caused by manmade obstructions to the river, such as dams, pollution, and alterations in oceanic currents as a result of climate change.

10. Scalloped Hammerhead Shark

These famous sharks are endangered as critically, and it is largely through the need of their fins. They easily form large schools and this predisposes them to fishing fleets. They also often die in the bycatch of other fisheries.

12. Nassau Grouper

An example is a well known and over fished species towards extinction especially during their spawning aggregation. In harvesting these predictive aggregations, fishermen can harvest years in bud of a reproductive year-class and end in collapse.

13. Antarctic Blue whale

A subspecies of the blue whale, the Antarctic blue whale was almost hunted to extinction in the whaling period. Its numbers are estimated at a tiny percentage of their ante-whaling value, and being impeded by the shifting Antarctics animal and plant world.

14. Common Sawfish

This is an extremely endangered, saw-like rays with a commercial rostrum. Since it has what has been termed as a saw, this means that it is highly susceptible to entanglement in all kinds of fishing nets. Its habitat degradation and the hunting of its rostrum, fins and flesh have reduced it to local extinction in a number of locations.

15. Humphead Wrasse

This is a large, colorful reef fish that is highly-prized in the live reef fish trade, especially to the Asian market. Its slow reproduction and maturity has combined with heavy fishing pressure to cause serious population losses in all parts of its range.

Deep Blue Hope, Protecting our dying oceans

The case of these endangered ocean creatures is still under development. Not yet are they lost to us, indeed By increasing awareness and the continued investments in conservation initiatives across the world, and making daily decisions such as choosing to eat sustainable seafood or substituting plastic items and products, we can change the course. It is in our power to make sure these wonderful animals do not become extinct in our oceans, but proliferate over generations. The world that we see deeply blue depends on it.