Our earth is facing a never ending problem that should be fixed and minimized starts from now on. From many problem that is faced by our earth, our ocean also has the problem that should be fixed. There are some threats to marine life that sometimes is done by our self without any consciousness. And here I’d like to share you with some threats to marine life that maybe you don’t realize before.
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1. Sailing
Sailing activity appears everyday in the sea. This is because many people work as a fisherman and relying their life on the sea. The threat coming up from sailing is the ship or boat it self. There are so many types of ship and boat starts from the small one until the big an advance one. Sometime, during the sail, the ship doesn’t see the existence of marine animal that occur in the water surface. In return, they usually hit the animal and injure it so badly.
See also: Threats to Marine Mammals
2. Oil drops
The sailing ships in the sea not only creating one big problem because it also create another huge problem. The oil that is used in the ship’s machine usually drops to the ocean and poisoning the ocean. From the oil drops, we see that many problem may happens starts from the water pollution until the death of the marine living beings.
See also: Ocean Pollution – Prevention of Marine Pollution
3. Acoustic pollution
As you know, mostly marine mammal using its ability which is echolocation to lead them to a certain places that they wanna go. The existence of radar, sound, and etc actually disturbing these animal echolocation ability. Their echolocation ability is the eyes for them to see, and when it is disturbed during the use the marine mammal can just hit something hard and injure them self badly.
4. Air pollution
Again and again, ships creating another problem toward the ocean life. Smoke created from the ship’s machine because of the burning process of its fuel polluting the ocean’s air. And as we all know, even though fish live beneath the sea but it is still need oxygen to breathe, moreover the marine mammals that is used to occur in the water surface.
5. Overfishing
Overfishing is the number one factor that can make the whole population of marine animal vanish. That is because overfishing means you catch a high number of fish until the fish it self can’t even reproduce to replace the number of population that is being taken by human. In the overfishing activity,anykind of fish will be catch without seeing the age either the fish is an adult or juvenile.
See also: Ways to Prevent Overfishing – Overfishing in the Ocean
6. Trawling
One kind of way to do the overfishing is by using trawl and people used to call this activity as trawling. And as you know that the using of trawl can catch many fish and another marine animal such as prawn, squid, octopus, and etc in any size. Because it is so dangerous, our government banning the use of trawl to fish.
7. Bombing
Different type of fishing producing different type of result and impact. Bombing can both killing the marine animals and its habitat. From the health side it self the use of bombing is not good as well because it will poisoning and kill the fish directly at the time and surely it will be dangerous to consume it. Besides that, bomb can explode the home for the fish which is the coral reef.
8. Doping
The other threats for marine life is the use of doping to catch the fish. The chemical substance inside the dope can poisoning both the fish and the coral reef. And when the coral reef or its surrounding is affected by the chemical substance it can lead the coral bleaching to be happened. It is because the water pH is change and not suit with the coral reef needs so the coral in the end will die.
9. Waste accumulation
There are so many people that go to the beach to enjoy their holiday. And by their coming the waste accumulation in the sea is increasing. Many people still have low awareness about the trash that they throw to the beach. The trash in the beach will be washed away by the wave and it will be taken to the sea. The waste that by the time goes by being accumulated in the sea can be seen as food by sea turtle. Sea turtle sees plastic as jellyfish and in the end it will eat it and die.
10. Sedimentation
Not only can be seen as food and harming the sea turtle, but the waste can create another danger. The waste accumulation in the end can cover the coral reef surrounding and make the algae inside it can’t produce food anymore because it can’t catch the sunlight. The sedimentation created from the waste can cover the natural habitat such as coral reef where many marine living beings rely on. And when the habitat lost the animal will loss too slowly.
See also: Ocean Sediments
11. Habitat damage and loss
Habitat damage and loss has a various factors. Besides sedimentation, coastal development, and mining activity can be another factor that is responsible to the habitat damage and loss. Food, shelter, and another things that support the marine animal live is found in their own habitat. So, no wonder that the loss of habitat will impacting the live of living beings there.
See also: Threats to Marine Habitats – Types of Ocean Habitats
12. Disease
In the ocean also exist some disease that affecting the marine living being life. The disease may be caused by parasite, bacteria, virus, and another factor. These disease may also kill the fish and plants in the ocean. One of the example of it is enteric bacteria.
13. Agricultural run off
In the end any kind of water, where ever it is, it will be ended in the sea. Either it is because the water cycle of rain or because it (e.g., river, lake) has a path way to the open ocean. During the agricultural activity, the pesticide given by the farmer toward their plants can run off to the sea and changing the sea water pH.
14. Global warming
Global warming is the change of our earth temperature and make it warmer. Maybe it doesn’t sound like a big deal but actually it is. No matter how small the changes it can affecting many things. Taking an example of ice in the polar that can be melted if the temperature surround it becomes warmer.
See also: Global Warming in Ocean
15. Climate change
Climate change biggest factor is global warming. After the global warming and our earth becomes warmer, our climate will be different and become irregular. If the dry season is longer than the rainy season then there will be drought everywhere. And if the rainy season is longer than dry season then there will be flood everywhere because of he high intensity of rain. So everything should be in balance in order to keep the ecosystem and the last of living beings live.
See also: Climate of the Ocean
16. High wind intensity
High wind intensity also become the threats to marine life. It is because wind can swipe up the ocean water surface and giving a pressure toward the live beneath the ocean.
17. Storm
This natural disaster which is storm also can affecting the marine life. Starts from destroying the habitat until killing the marine animal because it is creating such a high pressure from its rotation.
See also: Types of Ocean Storms
18. Entertainment
For the human needs, many marine living being is being taken from the ocean and being kept in the captivity. In the earlier century where circus was still happening, many marine mammal such as whale and dolphin died because of the treat that wasn’t suit with their condition and needs.
19. Tsunami
Earthquake beneath the ocean can create tsunami. Tsunami will washed away the marine living being to the land and this will kill them in a short period of time. There is also a possibility that the marine living beings that isn’t being washed away to the land experience the stress that make them have a different habit by then.
20. Landslides
Landslides may happens because the existence of tree is not enough to hold the soil using its roots. In the end, when the slides of land happens and it goes to the sea it will creating sedimentation that will cover one or some certain habitat.
So those are some threats to marine life that you need to know. By this little knowledge maybe you can prevent some little things such as not throwing plastic to the sea and etc. Thank you for being our loyal follower and reader. And don’t forget to keeo following ou website because there will be more interesting article to come.