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** When air, land, water, plants and animals support each other in a healthy environmental system, all species, including humans, flourish. Alone among the animals, humans have the power to throw the system out of balance, to damage key elements in the web of life beyond repair ~ Department of Environmental Conservation New York ** ======

** Until recently, humankind seemed to view the ocean as a source of infinite resources. Its vast size and depthand unexplored frontiers made the ocean appear invulnerable to overexploitation. The truth is that the populations of many species are decreasing at an unsustainable rate, and the number of species listed as endangered from marine life families such as whales, dolphins, manatee and dugongs, salmon, seabirds, sea turtles and sharks to name a few, are on the rise. The threats to marine species are difficult to perceive because marine animals are not as visible as animals on land. But unfortunately, marine creatures are equally, if not mo **** re, vulnerable to problems such as habitat destruction and overe **** xploitation. Shallow water animals that breathe **** air, like turtles, manatees, dugongs, and whales are often hit by boats and caught in fishing gear. **

** Species such as turtles that lay their eggs on land often lose their nurseries due to coastal development. Animals that have taken million **** s of years to evolve, that are invaluable to all ecosystems, have and continue to vanish from places where they once flourished. ~ MarineBio.org **

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** There are [|approximately 1,950 species listed] under the ESA. Of these species, approximately 1,375 are found in part or entirely in the U.S. and its waters; the remainder are foreign species. ~NOA ** ======


 * Loss of [|habitats], the spread of disease, [|pollution], and [|unsustainable fishing practices] are directly related to the actions of humans and recovery from these problems is rarely straightforward. Many marine species live in small, specific habitats while others require protection across their migration routes that cover vast areas and include breeding and feeding grounds. [|Marine protected areas] (MPAs) have been designated in many places worldwide, which can help protect and restore [|threatened species], but MPAs are limited in size and therefore, limited to the marine life that inhabits those areas. ~ MarineBio.org **

** __THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT__ ** ** The [|Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966] as established in the U.S. to protect species facing possible [|extinction], but it only covers native species and the extent to which they are protected is extremely limited. In 1969, the Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Defense passed the [|Endangered Species Conservation Act] o prevent mass extinctions of certain species. The use of endangered species by humans for food, fur, and other commercial uses was outlawed by this act and by the[|Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972] In 1973, the[|Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)] f Wild Fauna and Flora was implemented to cut back on the trade of plants and animals in trouble. The 1973 [|Endangered Species Act] s one of the most significant environmental laws in America and defines endangered or threatened species, puts plants and invertebrates under protection, requires federal agencies to start programs to conserve important habitats, creates a wide umbrella of la ** ** ws against hunting for endangered species, and matches contributions from individual states towards the project. The [|United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)] and the [|National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)] re responsible for the enforcement of the Endangered Species Act. ~ Marinebio.org **


 * __ DESTRUCTIVE FISHING __**


 * Blast Fishing is the practice of using explosives to stun or kill schools of fish This often illegal practice can be extremely destructive to the surrounding ecosystem, as the explosion often destroys the underlying habitat (such as coral reefs) that supports the fish. Destructive fishing destroys the habitat where reef animals live and breed and overfishing disrupts the ecological food chain. Recovery, if possible, may take decades.The sediment left behind from blast fishing makes it difficult for juvenile corals to settle and grow. There are also declines in fish species and richness and a loss of coral associated fish communities - [|http://www.coral.org] **


 * Cyanide fishing is an inexpensive and effective method for collecting reef fishes that occurs in many places around the world. Fishermen make concentrated cyanide by crushing sodium cyanide (NaCN) pellets into squirt bottles and filling them with [|seawater]. The fishermen then dive down to [|coral reef] areas and squirt the concentrated cyanide into crevices where reef fish hide. The cyanide stuns the fish temporarily, making them easier to capture. The live reef fish are brought back to the ship and are put in seawater for transportation. In other areas of the world, bleach is used similarly to cyanide solution to subdue both reef fish and crustaceans. **

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 * <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">Cyanide fishing destroys thousands of hectares of essential [|coral reef] habitats every year. Although cyanide leaves the structure of the coral intact, it kills the coral polyps. The cyanide stresses the [|zooxanthellae], the symbiotic algae that live in coral polyps. The result is “bleaching,” the discoloration that results from the loss of the algae from the polyps, which can be fatal to the coral. Further destruction of the reefs occurs during the cyanide fishing process when the reef fish escape deeper into coral crevices to avoid the cyanide solution. The fishermen then use a hammer to break apart the reef to retrieve the fish. This results in irreparable damage to the reefs. Destroying the reef structure degrades the reef fish habitat. This practice has significantly damaged reefs in both the Philippines and Indonesia. - <span style="color: #000080; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 17px;">[|http://www.eoearth.org] **