Endangered species exist not only in one certain place, but it exists everywhere including Atlantic Ocean. Because of man greediness, many species are hunted for human satisfaction without thinking the impact that might happen. Every species of living being has it own roles in our ecosystem, so if one species extinct our ecosystem will be hampered. If there’s no plants means there will be no herbivore, no herbivore means there will be no carnivore, which means human cannot consume both plants and animals. As simple as that little analogy, I’d like to introduce you to the 15 endangered species in Atlantic Ocean that must be contribute something in our life that needs your protection.
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1. Monodon monoceros (Narwhal)
Their tusk is growing through out life and could reach 3.1 m in length and 10 kg of weight. There’s narwhal who has two tusk, but it is only one narwhal in 500 narwhal who has it.
Even though the females body are bigger than males, but their tusk is smaller and only 15% of females grow their tusk. They feeds on halibut, shrimps, polar, cuttlefish, pod, and squid. They could live up to 50 years. Their population is threatened by human and predation by orca and polar. Human usually hunt narwhal for their tusk, meat, skin, blubber, and organs.
2. Delphinapterus leucas (Beluga)
They feed on pod, rose fish, shrimp, salmon, squid, snails, crabs, clams, and octopus. Belugas are threatened by human because they are hunted for their skin, blubber, and meat. Their skin is used as leather.
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3. Physeter macrocephalus (Sperm Whale)
On the other hand, they feed on giant squid, colossal squid, octopus, and fish. The population of this whale is decreasing because human hunt them for their meat, skin, and sperm oil. Their teeth are also used as a carving such as scrimshaw.
4. Cystophora cristata (Hooded Seal)
Meanwhile, Many Hooded Seal can live up longer than other sea animals. They could live up to 35 years. However, Hooded seal is hunted for their leather and oil deposit. Hooded seal pups are also hunted for their blue and black pelts.
See also: Ocean Seashells – Types of Algae
5. Thunnus thynnus (Atlantic Bluefin Tuna)
This fish is native to western and eastern Atlantic Ocean. This fish weight may exceed 450 kg. And for mature adult bluefin tuna, their length could reach up to 2.5 m.
They could live more than 15 years and their sexual maturity is late. The decreasing number of bluefin fish is because human hunt them for their meat. People in Japan often eat bluefin tuna as sushi.
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6. Hippocampus erectus (Lined Seahorse)
Moreover, what is unique about seahorse is that the one who will look after their newborn seahorse is the male seahorse. Once the seahorse breed it could spawn up to 1.552 eggs. The biggest thread to lined seahorse is the decreasing number of its habitat.
See also: Endangered Seahorses – Largest Clams in the World
7. Dermochelys coriacea (Leatherback Sea Turtle)
Their life span is more than 30 years. The population of this sea turtle is decreasing because of predation, and hunting by human. Besides that, the existance of plastic in the sea makes this sea turtle thinks that the plastic is jellyfish so they eat it and they die.
See also: Endangered Sea Turtles List – Endangered Sea Cucumbers
8. Odobenus rosmarus (Walrus)
The reproduction of walrus is classified as low because they give a birth once every two years. It feeds on shrimp, crabs, tube worms, sea cucumbers, and other pinnipeds.
Walrus became the prey for killer whale and polar bear. The other factor that makes the population of walrus threatened is hunting by human. Human was hunting walrus for its meat, skin, bones, tusk, flippers, the intestines and gut linings.
9. Trichechus inunguis (Amazonian manatee)
In the wild, they could live up to 30 years. This species of manatee is the only species of manatee which occur exclusively in freshwater environments. Amazonian manatee is in the 15 endangered species in Atlantic Ocean list because their population is threatened by huntings, climate change, and habitat loss.
See also: Biggest Fish in Amazon – Facts of Dead Sea
10. Dusky Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus)
In addition, the biggest thread toward dusky dolphin are hunting and commercial fishing. They are haunted for their meat and not only a few of them are injured because of a large boat that hit them.
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11. Carcharodon carcharias (Great White Shark)
Thus, the main factor of the decreasing number of great white shark is hunted by killer whale, climate change, and hunting. The low reproduction rate is also became the factor of the declining number of this shark.
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12. Hippoglossus hippoglossus (Atlantic Halibut)
Then, their size could reach up to 320 kg in weight and 4.7 m in length. This fish feed on another fish such as cod, haddock, herring, pogge, sand eels, and capelin. However, it willl also eat crustaceans, cephalopods, and benthos organism. The population of atlantic halibut is decreasing due to over fishing because it became an important food fish.
See also: Fishes in Atlantic Ocean – Red Sea Fish Species
13. Balaenoptera physalus (Fin Whale)
Then, just like any other whale, fin whale is threatened because of whaling up to the industrial commercial level. It was hunted for its oil, blubber, and baleen. Another factor is the collision with large fast moving ships that makes serious injured on fin whale.
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14. Balaenoptera borealis (Sei Whale)
Meanwhile, in the North Atlantic, during the 1885 – 1984 there were 14.295 fin whales are taken. They were hunted for its meat, becauce its meat became an important food for Norwegian. Another factor that cause the death of fin whale is the endemic poisoning.
See also: Cause and Effects of Tsunami – Climate of the Ocean
15. Eubalaena glacialis (North Atlantic right whale )
They also feed on copepods, and small invertebrates. Fin whales were hunted for its oil and meat, their lack of speed through water make them easier to catch even only with hand held harpoons.
Remember that we have to always try to learn the ways to protect the marine life by start it with the ways to save the ocean. Our little help will at least avoid the ocean pollution. Thank you for keep reading this article until the end which means you do really concern about the endangered animals.
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