The ocean is a wonderful place. It is filled with many species that help keep this giant ecosystem together. These species interact with each other, some being predators, and some being prey. Unfortunately, this balance is being upset. Pollution and many other actions are hurting this giant landscape, upsetting a balance not built to be touched. Three species specifically are affected more than most. These three animals are the turtle, beluga whale, and the shark. there are many things hurting these three organisms. The most obvious are pollution and over fishing. More information for these three specific organisms are below.
|
SharksThe shark has been the front of fishing for many years. They are most wanted for their fins, where their meat is used in soup. Recent studies have shown that all shark populations in the north-west Atlantic Ocean have declined by an average of 50% since the early 1970s. The Scalloped Hamerhead shark has declined 99% in the last 30 years. Shark finning is most practiced in china for very large sums of money.
|
Beluga WhalesBelugas and all whales are negatively affected by human activity, including increased development, shipping, oil and gas production and transport, indirect and direct adverse effects from commercial fishing gear and operations, pollution, and habitat destruction and alteration. An increasing concern in marine habitats is noise, which can cause damage to a whale’s hearing and damage its ability to communicate, navigate, and locate prey.
|
Sea TurtlesHuman activities have tipped the scales against the survival of these ancient mariners. Nearly all species of sea turtle are classified as Endangered. Slaughtered for their eggs, meat, skin and shells, sea turtles suffer from poaching and over-exploitation. They also face habitat destruction and accidental capture in fishing gear. Climate change has an impact on turtle nesting sites. It alters sand temperatures, which then affects the sex of hatchlings.
|
Take Action!
Just looking at the growing numbers won't change the amount of people poluting, shark fining, or causing other environmental problems. A big problem with our current society is that many people don't want to deal with these problems. People know that bad things are happening but don't know what to do about it. here are some examples I found when asking people this same question. Some ways that you can help are by counting the amount of one-use peices of plastic. If everyone is more careful about plastic use, you could be saving hundreds of turtles who choke on plastic thinking they are jellyfish. You can also limit the amount of time you drive and bike instead. If more people biked to places 5 minutes away the level of polution will decrease. Lastly, you can go online and find movies or books about dangers to these animals by telling friends or family. In this new era, information flies quickly and there are many people readily available to send it too. Small steps lead to greater ones, and these steps will take you down a better path to our environment.
Just looking at the growing numbers won't change the amount of people poluting, shark fining, or causing other environmental problems. A big problem with our current society is that many people don't want to deal with these problems. People know that bad things are happening but don't know what to do about it. here are some examples I found when asking people this same question. Some ways that you can help are by counting the amount of one-use peices of plastic. If everyone is more careful about plastic use, you could be saving hundreds of turtles who choke on plastic thinking they are jellyfish. You can also limit the amount of time you drive and bike instead. If more people biked to places 5 minutes away the level of polution will decrease. Lastly, you can go online and find movies or books about dangers to these animals by telling friends or family. In this new era, information flies quickly and there are many people readily available to send it too. Small steps lead to greater ones, and these steps will take you down a better path to our environment.