From a gentle leviathan that is the whale shark to the delicacy beloved by many as bluefin tuna, these endangered sea creatures are suffering from overfishing, toxins and environmental destruction.
With the increased rate at which marine animals are facing the threat of extinction, people should learn about the vices that include the destruction of their habitat, pollution of their sources of food and overfishing.
It’s equally important to aid in conservation efforts, which can be as easy as learning about a species and spreading the word, or learning good practices for dealing with and releasing animals you inadvertently catch.
Under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, about 2,270 marine species are considered threatened or endangered globally. Here, we profile 20 of the most charming creatures, why they’re endangered, and how you can help.
20 Marine Mammals, Fish, and Turtles
1:Smalltooth Sawfish
With its cartilaginous frame and elongated snout, the common-looking smalltooth sawfish looks like a shark-crocodile hybrid, but it’s a species of ray. These fish are caught in waters near the state of Florida and are migratory fish well-adapted to warm tropical waters. At one time, smalltooth sawfish could be seen throughout the Gulf of Mexico, from Texas to Florida, and up the East Coast to North Carolina, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Reputation: Critically Endangered
Why They’re Endangered: Smalltooth sawfish populations plummeted in the latter half of the 20th century due to the main factors: habitat loss and bycatch. As coastal land creation continued to flourish along the Florida coast, the shallow estuaries where juvenile smalltooth sawfish like to feed began to disappear. Over the past decades, fish has been obtained from water through fishing, where fish is normally caught alive and killed, instead of being caught and released.
One way to help: If you’re a hobby fisherman, familiarize yourself with the tips NOAA Fisheries developed for safely dealing with and releasing small-tooth sawfish.
2:White Abalone
You might imagine white abalone as nothing more than the filler inside a beautiful shell, but this tasty mollusc is a type of plant-eating sea snail, according to NOAA, one that local humans have been ingesting for many years. Using its muscular orange foot, white abalone attaches itself to rocks, feeding on floating seaweed and algae. It was in the year 2001, that these lowly ‘ creatures of the deep ’ were the first marine invertebrates to be afforded, protection under the Endangered Species Act.
Claim to fame: Endangered
Why they’re in trouble: Industrial and recreational overfishing along the California coast in the 1970s is a major culprit in the decline of white abalone, and because of the creatures’ strange mating habits (they don’t reach sexual maturity until they’re 4 to 6 years old), this had a lasting effect on their population. Meanwhile, the molluscs are also plagued by a disease known as wasting syndrome, which can attack the abalone’s digestive organs.
How to help: Get informed: If you find or catch white abalone, you should release them properly. You can also donate to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, which is involved in studies to develop white abalone populations.
3:Green sea turtle
Encountering a green sea turtle in the wild is a truly awe-inspiring experience and one that we together might experience less and less without continued interventions to protect these large herbivores. Green sea turtles get their name from the green colour of their shells, which is derived from the algae and seagrass they munch on. Found all over the world (they nest in over 80 countries and live in the coastal areas of over 140 countries), these turtles have an impressive eleven population segments that are considered endangered.
Fame: Endangered
Why They’re Endangered: Because the green sea turtle is found in so many places, it’s also exposed to several threats: accidental capture from fishing gear, egg harvesting, nesting habitat degradation, boat strikes, ocean pollutants, global warming, and clutter.
How to Help: Still despite all these dangers that this endangered marine animal is exposed to, there are several things that you can do. Minimise the amount of waste in the ocean by participating in cleanup activities, refraining from encroaching on those beaches used by sea creatures for nesting, refraining from driving and so on.
4:Vaquita
Unfortunately, this is one of the most endangered marine mammals on this list and, in general, among all the species of marine mammals; only between 20 and 30 individuals of this porpoise are known to have survived in the natural environment. These mammals measure four or five feet in length and their elaborate weights average 65 to 120 pounds. The final small population is found only in the northern part of the Gulf of California, according to NOAA.
Status: Critically Endangered
Why They’re in Trouble: The only known threat to the vaquita is bycatch in fishing gear principally gillnets. Gillnets (vertical panels of netting strung between buoys to create a wall) are the primary offenders.
One way to help: Call the NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964 to report a marine mammals violation, especially if you identify the vaquita as bycatch.
5:Whale Shark
Being the largest confirmed specimen, this animal stands up to 18 meters high from the head top to the flipper base according to researchers’ observation. Growing up to 8 metres long, the whale shark is a real giant and easily outclasses any other fish out there in terms of size. While these animals are relatively small, they are categorised as filter feeders; this means that they have an extremely large mouth through which they feed on such things as plankton as well as other small fish.
Popularity: Endangered
Why they’re in trouble: The main threats to whale sharks are intentional fishing, bycatch in nets and ship movements, but there are other local threats at play, such as oil and gas drilling.
How to help: This is another interesting form of friendship with the whale shark, one can join the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and adopt a whale shark.
6:Marine Iguana
Like so many other strange creatures, the marine iguana is an epidemic species of the Galapagos Islands. Unlike other iguanas, these lizards can dive into the water, where they forage for algae.
Popularity: Predisposed
Why They’re in Trouble: El Niño ocean cycles, oil spills, non-local predators
How to Help: Adopt a marine iguana from the World Wildlife Fund.
7:Finless Porpoise
The finless porpoise is very smart and, as its name suggests, inhabits the freshwater lakes and rivers of Southeast and East Asia with a distinct preference for the Yangtze. The most general source, WWF, claims that there are only between 1,000 to 1,800 of the finless porpoises in the wild moreover, the range is shrinking.
Reputation: Critically Endangered
Why They’re in Trouble: Illegal fishing, habitat degradation
How to Help: Donate to the WWF as it works to restore wetlands and reduce pollution along the Yangtze.
8:Dugong
Although similar in appearance to the manatee, the dugong is an exceptional animal (even though both dugongs and manatees belong to the order Sirenia). Dugongs are gentle, friendly creatures that devour a vegetarian diet and can reach up to 650 pounds as adults.
Reputation: endangered
Why they’re in trouble: Coastal development, lack of habitat and food (seagrass), and water pollutants
How to help: Adopt a dugong
9:Gharial
This gnarly-looking gharial is a crocodile. Sometimes called a gharial, they’re easy to spot thanks to their elongated, narrow snouts. They thrive in freshwater systems, and National Geographic reports that while they were once found from “Pakistan to Myanmar,” they’re now only found in India and Nepal.
Reputation: Critically endangered
Why they’re in trouble: Human hunting and changes to habitats (including man-made dams) have threatened the creatures. Gharials need water to survive, and while a dam can change water availability, they can die as water becomes less and less accessible.
How to help: Learn more about gharials and the research being done to ensure their conservation.
10:Bluefin tuna
The world’s most valuable fish is in great danger. According to Oceana, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) estimates that there are only 25,000 adult bluefin tuna left.
Diminishing in popularity.
Reasons for their predicament: Overfishing, a process known as live tuna stocking, which entails keeping the fish alive and feeding it before exporting and a decline in the quantity of prey available.
Ways to assist: Read more about such a fish and help the Center for Biological Diversity.
11:Cape penguin
Cape penguins are also known as “jackass penguins” and “black-footed penguins” because of their name, which sounds like a donkey neighing, and the colouration of their feet (obviously). This penguin breeds only in Africa.
Status: Endangered
Why they’re in trouble: Lack of nesting sites, oil spills and loss of food due to overfishing are the main threats to seabirds.
How to help: However, it has been noted that you can support penguin conservation bodies like the South African Coastal Bird Conservation Trust (SAANCOB) and through the Seafood Watch website to get information on where to get sustainable seafood from restaurants and supermarkets.
12:Corals
One must not also forget that coral is another denizen of the sea besides being the medium that lends the right atmosphere to the film. Coral protects other marine creatures, as well as a place to reproduce and spawn.
Reputation: More than 25 corals are classified as threatened or endangered
Why they’re in trouble: This essential part of the sea is relatively delicate; ocean acidification and industrial bottom trawling are its main threats.
How to help: To protect corals, buy and eat the correct seafood, take the fish to water, avoid touching reefs while diving, and do not use the wrong chemicals in the sunblock that can harm corals immensely. Recycling helps, too!
13:Grey Whale
These 50-foot-long whales are very special among whales for their dorsal humps (instead of flippers), but they are also very popular for their moans, grunts, thumps, and other special vocalizations. While Baja California grey whales are thought to be friendly, the species is internationally known for the fierceness with which mothers protect their young.
Reputation: Endangered in the target population section of the western North Pacific; its eastern inventory has been delisted
Why they’re in trouble: Centuries of overfishing have left one population extinct (North Atlantic) and another critically endangered (western North Pacific). The best news is that fishing restrictions have allowed the third-largest population, in the eastern North Pacific, to recover to the point that it was removed from the U.S. endangered species list in 1994.
How to help: Visit WWF to learn more about grey whales, make a donation, and adopt your grey whale.
14:Hector’s dolphin
There are thought to be only 7,400 living specimens left in New Zealand’s coastal waters, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers the Hector’s dolphin an endangered species on the “red list.”
Famous for: Endangered
Why it’s in trouble: Bycatch, pollution, and disturbances caused by ships
One way to help: Visit WWF to learn about endangered species and donate to conservation efforts.
15:Napoleon
Although it is also known as the wrasse, the Napoleon gets its name from an obvious anatomical feature. It is one of the most important coral reef fish and can be found on reefs around the world, on Pacific islands and in parts of the Indian Ocean. Oh, and it is a hermaphroditic, changing sex as it matures.
Reputation: Endangered
Why they are in trouble: Because the fish takes a long time to mature, is exceedingly rare on its own, and is easy for fishermen to wait where it spawns, overfishing has been a problem for generations.
How to help: Visit WWF and do more research on the wrasse and other endangered sea creatures.
16:Loggerhead Sea Turtles
Loggerhead sea turtles get their name from their huge heads, which contain the large jaw muscles that help them chew hard-shelled molluscs, according to NOAA. These endangered sea creatures are the most abundant nesting sea turtles in the U.S.
Reputation: Endangered or threatened, depending on region
Why they’re in trouble: Fishing gear is sea turtles’ worst enemy, but lack of habitat and climate change also play a role in putting these species in jeopardy.
How to help: Reduce the amount of waste dumped into the sea. If you see a loggerhead turtle (or other marine flora and fauna) in the wild, stay a safe distance away and document endangered sea creatures.
17:Manatees
The manatee is both a land mammal and a sea creature, and it’s a large, gentle vegetarian. The largest population of manatees in the world is in Florida, but even there fewer than 3,000 individuals live there.
Popularity: Threatened
Why it’s endangered: In addition to temporary problems like the 2010 winter freeze that harmed manatees and other marine creatures in Florida, toxic algae (caused by human pollution), habitat loss, and boat strikes threaten the manatee.
How to help: Visit Defenders of Wildlife and learn more about manatees and other marine creatures.
18:Mediterranean Monk Seal
The Mediterranean monk seal, one of the six most endangered mammals in the world, according to WWF, used to live from Portugal to Senegal. Today, only 500 remain in isolated groups.
Reputation: Critically Endangered
Why it’s endangered: Hunting, habitat destruction, pollution, depleted fish stocks and opposition from fishermen have all contributed to the decline of the Mediterranean monk seal. However, other seals may be threatened by global warming, as Arctic and Antarctic habitats are rapidly transforming.
How to help: Visit WWF and learn more about endangered seals and other marine creatures.
19:Chinook Salmon
Salmon, the world’s most popular game and recreational fish, is endangered. Wild salmon sales support many communities around the world, but these fish need clean rivers and oceans to survive.
Claim to fame: Two species are endangered and seven are threatened
Why they’re in trouble: Chinook salmon (also known as king salmon) from Alaska to California are in decline, with pollution, global warming and bycatch to blame.
How to help: Do more research on habitat conservation and regulatory actions.
20:Southern sea otter
With the densest fur on the planet, sea otters live to tell the tale in cold waters without the layer of blubber that insulates other marine mammals. Plus, they need to eat a lot to conserve heat—eating up to a quarter of their body weight each day. While northern sea otters, found off the U.S. West Coast from Alaska to Washington, have a robust population of about 77,000, fewer than 3,000 southern sea otters live off the California coast.
Status: Endangered
Why they’re in trouble: The biggest threats to sea otters arose in the past, when moulting caused their numbers to drop from more than a million to fewer than 2,000. Current threats include oil spills, habitat loss, food barriers, clutter, entanglement in fishing gear, and conflicts with shellfish fisheries (since otters like mussels, clams, crabs, and other shellfish that humans also enjoy).
How to help: Visit Defenders of Wildlife to research more about otters and start your journey.