Endangered Marine Life
Allie Carlson
McGinley Fall 2011

The amount of
endangered
marine life is
on the rise.

Top 5 Endangered Marine Species
1. Bluefin Tuna
2. Cape Penguin
3. Coral
4. Gray Whale
5. Hector’s Dolphin

Bluefin Tuna
 Known as the most valuable fish
in the ocean
 Tuna are a very important food
source for humans
 Only 25,000 remain
 Cause of endangerment:
overfishing, tuna ranching, loss
of prey
 Removal of this species and
others, such as the shark, can
degrade marine habitats

Cape Penguin
 AKA the “Jackass Penguin”
because of their call that
sounds like a donkey
 Endangered because of oil
spills, loss of nesting sites and
loss of food due to overfishing

Coral
 Very important sea animal
 Protects and gives creatures a
place for breeding/spawning
 Pharmaceutical properties
 In danger because of ocean
acidification and bottom
trawling commercial fishing

Gray Whale
 Known worldwide for their fierceness
 Ones located near Baja California
tend to be friendly
 Overfishing is the main cause of their
endangerment
 North Atlantic population is extinct
 Fishing restrictions have allowed the
Eastern North Pacific to grow

Hector’s Dolphin
 Only 7,400 left off the coast
of New Zealand
 Reasons for endangerment:
bycatch, boat disturbance
and pollutants

We are their #1 cause of
endangerment!
By the effects of
pollution, overfishing, boat
ing, oil spills, etc., it is clear
that we are the ocean’s
biggest threat to life.

Overfishing
and Pollution
 Overfishing and pollution are the two
main issues concerning the
destruction of marine life
 75% of all fisheries are overfished, and
if this rate keeps going as is, there
will be no more fisheries by 2050
 Pollution of the ocean is a major
problem and is done through many
different ways

Not only are we endangering
marine animals, but their
environments, as well.

Coastal Dredging Projects
The project that created this
upscale community on Roanoke
Island in North Carolina can
significantly alter wetland
ecosystems, disrupting animals’
habitats and interfering with a
marshland's natural ability to
control inland flooding.

Another way to destroy a habitat
is simply by killing off the species
which inhabit the area. For
example, 40 million Thresher
Sharks are killed each year, just
for their fins. Removal of
predators such as these can
destroy the environment.

Bottom Trawling
Bottom trawling is a form of net
fishing that scrapes the ocean
floor. This damages habitats by
ripping up coral reefs. Bottom
trawlers also collect large
amounts of bycatch that is simply
thrown back to sea or left to die.

Why does this matter?

 Who wants 75% of our world to be polluted?
 Activities such as boating and snorkeling are leisure activities and
are a main source of income through tourism for many places
 Hundreds of marine species, such as fish, lobster, squid, etc. are
a main food source for people all over the world
 It is said that at the rate we are going, by 2050 there will be no
more fisheries. In the United States alone, the international
trade in coastal and marine fisheries contributes $70 billion
annually to the economy
 This would not only hurt economies around the world, but also
some peoples’ way of life
 Etc.
And most importantly…

NO MORE
SHARK WEEK

Video!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhWhfC3fgVE

Expected Learning
Outcomes
1. What are we, as
humans, doing to hurt the
ocean’s environment?
2. How do these things
endanger marine life and their
habitat?
3. Why should we care about
the ocean’s environment?
(How does it effect us?)

Works Cited
http://www.wonders-world.com/2010/04/13-most-
endangered-sea-creatures.html
http://marinebio.org/oceans/threatened-endangered-
species.asp
http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com/ocean
http://www.worldculturepictorial.com/blog/content/oce
an-pollution-climate-change-man-made-disaster-or-