Marine Species In Danger Of Extinction

White abalone (Haliotis sorenseni)
This is a gastropod mollusk with an oval – usually reddish – shell, which generally measures between 5-8 inches in length. Fewer than 2000 remain, with the greatest reduction occurring in the last 30 years. It occurs on rocky bottoms between 80-200 feet deep from southern California to Mexico’s Baja peninsula. The biggest threat has been past over-collection by commercial and recreational fishers.


Johnson’s seagrass (Halophila johnsonii)
One of the smaller of all seagrasses, this species has smooth, elongated, spatula-shaped leaves that occur in pairs less than one-inch long. It has the smallest geographical distribution, occurring in sporadic patches down to 10 feet deep, between Sebastian Inlet and north Biscayne Bay of southeastern Florida. Intensive costal development and high-traffic waters cause direct mortality and destructive habitat alteration.


Vaquita (Phocena sinus)
The vaquita is the world’s smallest porpoise, with a gray back, fading to a white belly, with black eye rings and dark patches surrounding its lips. No more than 250 mature animals remain. It has the smallest distribution for any marine cetacean, restricted to the upper Gulf of California. They are killed by nets and other fishing gear as by-catch. They may also be suffering the effects of habitat alteration from reduced flow of the Colorado River, damned upstream.

Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus)
This seal has an average length of just less than eight feet and weighs just less than 660 pounds. The colour of its fur ranges from light gray to dark brown or black. Its present population is around 300. Once found on rocky shores and surrounding waters throughout the Mediterranean, eastern Atlantic, and Black Sea, it now occurs only in two separate populations in the eastern Mediterranean and northwest Africa. Threats include killing by fishermen who believe it is a competitor for fish; entanglement in fishing gear; habitat loss; and introduced species.

Christmas Island frigate bird (Fregata andrewsi)
This large, mostly black sea bird, measures up to 40 inches long, has a white belly, forked tail and a pink bill. The estimated remaining population of 3,200 is declining. It nests and broods on Australia’s 3.5-square-mile Christmas Island, but forages throughout the east Indian Ocean and western Indo-Malayan archipelago. Two-thirds of the remaining population is restricted to one breeding colony, which increases its vulnerability to storms and fire. Phosphate mining removed as much as 25 percent of its breeding area. Perhaps its greatest threat is from the introduced Yellow crazy ant, which may prey on nestlings and alter the island’s ecology.

Totoaba (Totoaba macdonaldi)
The largest of all sciaenid fishes, this species is known to have attained a maximum weight of 220 pounds and a length of 6.5 feet. Only found in coastal and insular waters of the northern Gulf of California to perhaps no deeper than 35 feet. Over-fishing: exploitation began in the early 20th century to supply the Chinese demand for its gas bladder to make soup, until a ban was imposed in the 1970s. Poaching continues, though the greater threat now is probably from capture of juveniles in shrimp trawlers and loss of spawning habitat in the Colorado delta. Some recent observations suggest hope that this species may be showing signs of recovery.


North Atlantic right whale
This is a mostly black baleen whale with raised, thickened skin patches on its head, lips, and chin. It reaches a maximum weight of 100 tons and a length of 60 feet. The number of mature individuals is estimated to be less than 250. They are found in the north Atlantic to depths of over 3000 feet. Their main feeding grounds are in the Bay of Fundy, Roseway Basin, Great South Channel, and Cape Cod Bay. This species was decimated by hunting, and today is threatened by entanglement in fishing nets, pollution, and ship collisions.

Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea)
The largest of all sea turtles, this species gets its name from the black, leathery carapace – mottled white – which it has in place of the hard shell found on all other sea turtles.