Protecting the Last Homes of the Giants

THE OCEAN IS EARTH'S LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM

rely on seafood as their primary source of protein.

Of the 9 billion tonnes of carbon that humans emit into the atmosphere each year at least 3 billion tonnes are taken up by phytoplankton.

50% of all the oxygen we breathe is produced by tiny plants in the ocean called PHYTOPLANKTON.

Overf ishing is one of the biggest threats

to the health of the ocean today.

Our preference for eating large marine predators is a major part of the problem.

Populations of large marine predatory fish have been reduced by 90%.

sharks are killed every year to satisfy global demand for shark f ins.

On average

Approximately 25% of the world's catch is bycatch – f ish and marine life that is caught unintentionally.

Scalloped Hammerhead

Status: Endangered

Scalloped hammerhead populations have sharply decreased all over the world. A high fin-to-body size ratio makes all species of hammerhead very lucrative targets for shark finning operations.

Atlantic Bluef in Tuna

Status: Endangered

Both Atlantic and Pacific bluefin tuna are among the most overfished species on Earth. Over 90% of bluefin tuna are caught before they reach sexual maturity.

Green Sea Turtle

Status: Endangered

Worldwide, hundreds of thousands of sea turtles a year are accidentally caught in trawl nets, on longline hooks and in fishing gillnets. 5 of the 7 species of sea turtles are classified as endangered.

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Status: Vulnerable

Each year, an estimated 60,000 leatherback turtles are accidentally caught by longlines. Many subpopulations of leatherbacks (such as the Pacific and Southwest Atlantic) are critically endangered.

Mahi-mahi

Status: Least Concern

A popular fish to eat in North America, mahi-mahi are often caught using longlines, which produce large amounts of bycatch.

Globally, shrimp trawlers kill

an average of 9kg of marine life

for every 1kg of shrimp they catch.

OVER 51 MILLION

square kilometres of seaf loor, an area

larger than Asia

has been affected by bottom trawlers.

Bottom trawling is a fishing method where a very large net is dragged across the seafloor. The net catches everything in its path – fish, sea turtles, coral and countless other marine animals.

Surface longlining is a fishing method that uses very long lines with thousands of baited hooks to catch fish. Some longlines can be over 100 km long.