Oceans may be an ancient feature of our world, but they remain an exploration and research frontier to this day. Let’s look at what we may not know about oceans or what we may have forgotten and think about what we can do and support as individuals to advance the cause of a healthy and viable global ocean environment for both humans and wildlife.

Did you know?

• Oceans cover about 71 percent of the earth’s surface.
• There are five geographical oceans: Atlantic, Arctic, Pacific, Indian and Southern (Antarctic).
• About half of the Earth’s oxygen comes from the oceans.
• Oceans are home to more than 200,000 marine wildlife species (and possibly up to more than 1 million that have yet to be discovered).
• Ocean invertebrates produce more antibiotic, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory substances than any group of terrestrial organisms.
• The U.S. ocean economy alone produces approximately $282 billion in goods and services.

What the Ocean Provides

Fisheries and Recreation

The U.S. ocean economy produces about $282 billion in goods and services and employs close to three million people (through businesses such as marine transportation, fisheries, coastal tourism, etc.). A few of the top commercial fisheries are American lobster, Alaska snow crab, Atlantic salmon and Alaska pollock.

Latrunculid sponges are found in the deep sea off the coast of Alaska. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), these sponges “are recognized as the major reservoirs of diverse types of pyrroloiminoquinone-type alkaloids, with a myriad of biological activities, in particular, cytotoxicity, fueling their exploration for anticancer drug discovery.” (cytotoxicity is the capacity of a substance or agent to cause damage or death to living cells, and in this case, cancer cells).

Oxygen

About half of the planet’s oxygen comes from the ocean. And most of this production is from plankton; one particular species called Prochlorococcus—it’s the smallest photosynthetic organism on Earth. It’s important to note that marine life consumes a significant portion of the oxygen that comes from the ocean—it’s essentially a closed ecosystem.

Medicine

According to NOAA, “many medicinal products come from the ocean, including ingredients that help fight cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease, and heart disease.” Specifically, ocean invertebrates produce more antibiotic, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory substances than any group of terrestrial organisms! To address the threat of depleting natural resources, scientists often create synthetic copies of essential marine compounds in labs.

Carbon Sequestration

The ocean acts as a “carbon sink” and absorbs about 31 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions released into the atmosphere, according to a NOAA study. Carbon sequestration is critical for mitigating climate change by capturing and storing atmospheric CO2, however the continued increase in CO2 in the ocean causes ocean acidification, which is a threat to marine life.

Threats to Our Oceans

The ocean provides essential services to help humans thrive, however, many of these “ecosystem services” are causing long-lasting, harmful impacts to marine ecosystems.

Habitat Loss

Coastal Development

Uncontrolled, poorly cited or improperly located or improperly managed coastal development such as sea walls, marinas, hotels, and other structures can cause harm to a variety of wildlife that depend on coastal habitats.

Impacted wildlife

• Sea turtle nesting beaches are impacted; all six species of sea turtles are protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
• Shorebirds such as the piping plover also suffer habitat loss; the piping plover is protected under the ESA in many regions of the U.S.

Deep-Sea Mining

The seabed has some very valuable minerals including manganese, nickel, cobalt and copper, that are used in everything from “defense systems and batteries to smartphones and medical devices.” Deep-sea mining is the extraction of these minerals and may be harmful to the ocean environment. Mining operations could destroy the unique deep ocean habitat, cause an influx of sediment that smothers marine wildlife, releases toxic chemicals, generates noise and light pollution, and more.

The deep-sea environment is home to thousands of wildlife species. In the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) alone, a prime candidate for deep-sea mining, “researchers have recently discovered over 5,000 species that were entirely new to science”. The CCZ is a giant abyssal (deep) plain, located in the North Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii to the north and Mexico to the south. Currently, there are small-scale deep-sea mining operations; however, governments and mining companies around the world are pushing these operations to expand as the demand for these minerals increases.

“To date, 185 new species have been identified from the CCZ. Only six of these new species have been observed elsewhere.”

– Current Biology article

Impacted Wildlife

• Sperm whales are listed as endangered under the ESA and protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Sperm whales can be found in areas identified for deep-sea mining, including in the CCZ and Alaskan waters.
• Pygmy sharks, one of the smallest shark species, are listed as least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List with their populations being stable, however their deep-sea habitat could be threatened by deep-sea mining.
• Gummy squirrels, also known as sea cucumbers, live at depths of more than 16,000 feet, and could face threats due to deep-sea mining; this species was discovered in 2018.

Pollution

Pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers from agricultural and residential runoff can cause toxic algal blooms (rapid increase in algal blooms releases neurotoxins and depletes oxygen levels in the water making it difficult or impossible for marine wildlife to breathe). Here are a few examples of impacted wildlife:

• In 2013, 277 manatee deaths in Florida were attributed to or suspected to be caused by a red tide (a type of toxic algal bloom); manatees are listed as threatened under the ESA.
• In 2015, off the coast of California, Oregon and Washington, the Dungeness crab fishery lost 97.5 million due to a toxic algal bloom; it shut down the crab and razor clam fisheries that year.

Plastic pollution is a critical threat to the world’s wildlife and to human health. Scientists believe about 8 million metric tons of plastic entered the ocean in 2010, and that number has probably increased since then. Here are a few examples of impacted wildlife:

• An estimated 56 percent of whale, dolphin and porpoise species have consumed plastic, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Plastic often looks like food, or is ingested accidentally with water and zooplankton, like krill, as baleen whales feed.
• According to the Center for Biological Diversity, fish in the North Pacific take in 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic, including microplastics, annually, which can result in intestinal injury and ultimately death. Sharks and other fish are vulnerable to microplastics since they bring in water through their gills. 

Overfishing

Some fisheries are being depleted due to overfishing; populations simply can’t keep up with the increased demand for seafood and advanced fishing technologies, such as fish finders. According to NOAA, in a 2023 Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries, approximately 6-9 percent of U.S. fish stocks are experiencing overfishing, with key impacted species including summer flounder, lane snapper, and various salmon and rockfish stocks.

Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification is caused by an excess of CO2 absorbed into the ocean from the atmosphere. This lowers the pH level, increasing the acidity, and disrupting marine ecosystems. Acidification primarily affects calcifying organisms including corals, clams, sea urchins, etc. The acidification makes it more difficult for these animals to build and maintain their calcium carbonate shells and skeletons. “NOAA Fisheries is proposing to list five species of giant clams as endangered and one species of giant clam as threatened under the ESA because they are in danger of extinction now or in the foreseeable future.”

Climate Change

Warming ocean temperatures are causing widespread coral bleaching, which destroys habitats for many different species of marine life, like the elkhorn and staghorn corals. Historically, these corals were in abundance in the Florida Keys but are now considered “functionally extinct. Warming temperatures also impact migration of many fisheries, pushing animals to cooler waters.

According to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, for close to forty years the American lobster fishery saw a “fivefold” increase in the Gulf of Maine due to warming temperatures, however, since 2016 this fishery has slowed down as continued increase in ocean temperatures is causing lobsters to move further north (the warmer water can cause the lobster to be more vulnerable to shell-borne illness).

Conservation Efforts

National Wildlife Federation (NWF) works on many marine conservation issues including sustainable fisheries management, habitat and biodiversity protections, establishment of marine protected areas, and more. NWF sets their conservation policy priorities in partnership with our state affiliate organization partners; a few examples of recent policy resolutions include supporting a cleaner fuel requirement for ocean-going vessels, opposing potentially damaging deep seabed mining practices to ensure protection of the marine and terrestrial environments and species as DSM exploration advances, and supporting shark conservation and population recovery.

NWF is an original member of the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition (HCRC), supporting and helping to advance the coalition’s efforts to protect and restore horseshoe crab populations along the Atlantic Coast. The Coalition is specifically working to end harvesting of horseshoe crabs for bait and the bleeding of crabs for biomedical toxicity testing.

To this end the coalition is working with the pharmaceutical industry to accelerate the adoption of synthetic lysate alternatives for use in toxicity testing of medicines, vaccines, and medical devices (lysate is a substance found in the blood of the horseshoe crab). NWF Affiliates on the coalition include Delaware Nature Society, National Aquarium, North Carolina Wildlife Federation, and HCRC co-founder New Jersey Audubon Society, who works alongside NWF’s director of conservation partnerships Marcus Sibley who serves as a core team member. Learn more about the challenges the horseshoe crab is facing, Decline of an Ancient Mariner.

Many of NWF’s state affiliate partners provide education and awareness programs on marine wildlife, implement on-the-ground conservation and restoration efforts, and advocate for state and federal policy that protects our oceans. 

Association of Northwest Steelheaders (Oregon)

The Association of Northwest Steelheaders, in collaboration with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Fish Eggs to Fry program, helps bring salmon or trout eggs into Oregon classrooms. The students then monitor the eggs through their life cycle from egg to fry. The Association’s members and other volunteers assist with setting up aquarium equipment, delivering eggs to classrooms, and introducing students to the importance of fish conservation. The Association has provided more than 25,000 hours to the program, provided at least 350 out of the 750 aquariums in classrooms across the state, and provided support to teachers through curricular resources, classroom presentations, technical support, and assistance with fry release day events in partnership with NWF’s Eco-Schools U.S.

Fun fact! Many species of salmon hatch in freshwater rivers, migrate to the ocean where they mature, and then return to their natal freshwater rivers to spawn.

“Throughout this process, the children develop a personal connection with the fish, sparking a lifelong investment in wildlife conservation. The children also learn about the scientific process of recording scientific data in a classroom journal, while ensuring the water is the right temperature, has enough air and is clean enough for fry to survive. This provides an opportunity to learn about their local streams and the importance of healthy waterways to salmon survival.”

– Tom VanderPlaat, volunteer coordinator

Conservation Council for Hawai’i

The Conservation Council for Hawai’i is well known for its advocacy work to save endemic species and eco-systems from mauka (upland) to makai (toward the sea) for the Hawaiian Islands, including the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, and the Pacific Remote Islands. Their work includes saving native Hawaiian seabirds from light pollution, protecting humpback whales from disruptive underwater sonar waves, and lowering the marine by-catch amounts from industrial fishing. They’ve worked with NWF to pass resolutions to influence our policy priorities including:

• Recognizing the cultural and ecological importance of sharks and the necessity of protecting them
• Advocating for the creation, expansion, and protection of marine sanctuaries/marine protected areas
• Calling for a moratorium on deep sea mining along with further research and strict guidelines on its advancement 

The Council is also committed to education and awareness; their signature event, Manu o Kū Festival, reaches hundreds of families and keiki (kids) every spring in the Honolulu area and engages participants in presentations and activities to learn about native wildlife. They also create an annual educational poster in collaboration with local artists that highlight native wildlife. The posters are then sent to all K-12 schools across the islands. 

National Aquarium (Maryland)

The National Aquarium’s mission is to connect people with nature to inspire compassion and care for the ocean planet. The private nonprofit organization’s goals are to combat climate change, stop plastic pollution and save wildlife and habitats through a holistic approach that includes education, engagement, habitat restoration, animal rescue work, sustainable business practices and policy advocacy.

More than 1.2 million people visit each year to experience immersive exhibits that are home to a wide variety of marine animals including sharks, sea turtles, dolphins, jellies, anemones, puffins, tropical reef fish, and more. The Aquarium reaches even more people through science-based education programs and hands-on field conservation work with partners in Baltimore and throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

National Aquarium staff, volunteers and partners have restored thousands of acres throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed—removing debris and planting native trees, gardens and wetland grasses in Baltimore City and beyond to provide habitat for wildlife and promote coastal resiliency. The Aquarium rescues and rehabilitates endangered and protected marine species, successfully returning hundreds of seals and sea turtles to the ocean, work that has informed its efforts to improve federal investment in marine animal stranding networks.

The Aquarium also works with NWF and other partners and coalitions to share diverse expertise with decision makers, inform the public process, and advocate for policies that safeguard wildlife, restore habitats, build resiliency to climate change impacts, reduce carbon and plastic pollution, and advance environmental justice.

How can you help protect our oceans?

There isn’t an easy answer to this question. There are complex, multi-step solutions to address these many threats to the ocean environment, solutions that require new laws and policies, enforcement of existing laws, education and awareness, collaboration across multiple stakeholders (e.g., governments, communities, companies, etc.), regular surveys of fisheries and other marine populations, etc.

Support Key Legislation

• Forage Fish Conservation Act
• Endangered Species Act
• Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) (read NWF blog, Celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the MSA)
• Recovering America’s Wildlife Act
• Marine Mammal Protection Act

NWF’s Action Fund Advocacy Toolkit provides guidance on the many ways to share your message of support with friends, family, public officials, media outlets, and more.

Take Action at Home and in the Community

• Celebrate World Ocean Day on June 8^th. Help educate your family and friends about the ocean and its amazing wildlife. 
• Leave no trace. When you are in the outdoors (on the beach, swimming in the ocean, along the river), leave no trace that you were there. This means do not leave any litter on the ground, do not touch or pick up wildlife (e.g., crabs, starfish, etc.), if you are building a sandcastle or stacking shells on the beach put everything back the way you found it before you leave, etc.
• Adopt a storm drain. Adopting a storm drain is a simple and fun way you can remind others to keep trash and chemicals that harm wildlife out of our local waterways and oceans.
• Host a clean-up. Host a clean-up in your community, at a local school, park, or beach to keep trash, including plastics, out of our streams, rivers, and oceans. 
• Restore seagrass beds. Volunteer with a local organization to protect and restore the sea grass beds.
• Find out what your plastic eco-score is and adopt a new habit to reduce plastic waste and help keep plastic out of the streams, rivers, and oceans.
• Purchase coral reef-safe sunscreen; these sunscreens are mineral-based.
• When boating, follow safe boating and navigation guidelines, including speed limits, and look out for sea turtles, manatees, and other wildlife.

Take our quiz to test your knowledge about the ocean.

Empower the Next Generation of Ocean Stewards

Kids’ Corner with Ranger Rick®

• Watch: How do underwater animals defend themselves?
• Watch: Why do fish swim in schools?
• Watch: Motion of the Ocean
• Dolphins Kahoot!
• Sea Otters Kahoot!
• Sea Turtles Kahoot!
• Shrimp Kahoot!

Get outside for a Green Hour®

• Celebrate Oceans
• Make Beach Art
• Hunt for Seashells

More resources:

• Marine mammals (NWF wildlife guide)
• Cold and warm water fish (NWF wildlife guide)
• Sea turtles (NWF wildlife guide)
• Restoring the gulf coast
• Wildlife impacts from plastic pollution

The National Wildlife Federation K-12 education team is joining Jillian Morris, a marine biologist and founder of Sharks4Kids, to host a virtual sharks webinar series. First, explore the biology, behavior, and critical role of sharks in ocean ecosystems.

Next, learn about shark conservation and cutting-edge research, including how scientists tag and track sharks to study their movements and behavior. Explore the technology behind shark tagging, see actual research in action, and discover how this science helps protect these incredible animals.

These webinars are ideal for classrooms, homeschools, and young ocean enthusiasts to explore the remarkable qualities of sharks.

Register today for the upcoming live shark science webinar!

• 4/29 Middle and High School
• 4/30 Elementary School

The first webinar in the two-part series, recorded in February, is now available on the EcoSchools YouTube channel and features tailored content for elementary, middle, and high school students.

Check out Sharks4Kids Free Resources

Elementary School

• Toilet Roll Hammerhead
• Grade 3-4 Shark Adaptations
• See all other shark activities for grades K-5 here.

Middle School

• Middle School Dive into the World of Sharks Unit
• BRUV (Bated Remote Underwater Video Systems) Shark Science
  

High School

• Climate Change and Shark Behavior
• Journal Article Activity: Biological responses of sharks to ocean acidification

Sharks4Kids

Sharks4Kids is dedicated to creating the next generation of shark advocates through education, outreach, and adventure. They provide free educational resources, virtual lessons, in-person school visits, and hands-on experiences to inspire curiosity and conservation. Bringing the world of sharks into classrooms and communities empowers kids to become ocean stewards and protect these incredible animals.

About the Presenters

Jillian Morris

Jillian Morris is a marine biologist, educator, photographer, mom, and the founder of Sharks4Kids, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring the next generation of shark advocates. She has spent thousands of hours diving with sharks worldwide, using her experience to promote conservation through education and storytelling. Jillian’s work has been featured by National Geographic, BBC, and Animal Planet, and she is passionate about making shark science accessible to kids everywhere. Through Sharks4Kids, she continues to empower young minds to understand and protect these incredible animals.

Michelle Trigg

As a scuba Instructor, Michelle has spent years teaching people how to dive and encountering different shark species around the globe. You will find her visiting classrooms, teaching virtual lessons, or creating shark craft projects for kids. She believes that the next generation can play a critical role in protecting sharks and our wider oceans through curiosity and creativity.

Sara Casatero

Sara Casareto is a marine biologist, public speaker, science communicator, and Sharks4Kids ambassador, passionate about marine science and conservation. Sara is currently a PhD candidate at Florida International University studying shark behavior and biology. Sara has been diving with sharks for over 15 years and, in addition to studying sharks, is just as excited about sharing her shark knowledge with students of all ages. Her work has been featured on National Geographic and local news channels.

Jeynaliz Ortiz Gonzalez

Jeynaliz is a Master’s of Professional Science, Marine Conservation student at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science. She is also a newly onboarded intern in the Shark Research and Conservation Program (SRC), also known as the MacDonald Lab. Her research focuses on local fisherman communities and shark consumption. 

Since our natural carbon sinks like forests are overwhelmed, excess emissions have built up in the atmosphere and are warming the planet. CDR technologies help to remove these excess emissions and are one of the tools recommended by climate change experts to help mitigate the impacts of climate change. On land, this comes in strategies such as Direct Air Capture (DAC). DAC uses large fans that suck in ambient air. CO₂ in the air sticks to filters in the DAC machine, and the treated air, now with less CO₂, is filtered out. The CO₂ is then stored safely deep underground or turned into materials such as cement. You can learn more about DAC here! 

While carbon sinks exist on land, the ocean is also a giant carbon sink, and thus has the potential to store large amounts of CO₂ permanently and prevent continued warming of the atmosphere. The ocean stores about a third of the total CO₂ emitted from burning fossil fuels and other human activities. This is a huge amount of carbon storage power, and mCDR seeks to leverage the ocean’s sink capacity to store even more CO₂.

Our new fact sheet talks about the different technologies that are in the early stages of trials and development that can help to increase the amount of CO₂ stored in the ocean. The fact sheet also addresses cited risks, potential benefits, and the state of mCDR’s deployment in the United States. The National Wildlife Federation recognizes that excess carbon in the ocean is having devastating effects, including changing the water’s chemistry, causing it to become too acidic, and harming shellfish and other marine life. While mCDR technology and pathways are still in the early stages of research and development, NWF has been working to promote the research needed to understand the potential impacts of mCDR to the ocean and coastal communities, as well as investigating any possible co-benefits. The impacts of climate change threaten people and wildlife, but mCDR may be one pathway of many to help mitigate this threat.

Gulf of Mexico Species

While the US Department of Interior’s Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) is responsible for implementing the ESA on our nation’s land, the National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) implements the ESA for marine species. NMFS lists 19 different species in the Gulf of Mexico as threatened or endangered, from the rough cactus coral to the giant manta ray to the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle. Over the last decade, several more Gulf species have been added to the list; the most recent addition is the endangered Rice’s whale. Having only been recognized as a genetically distinct species since 2021, the Rice’s whale only exists in the Gulf of Mexico and its population likely numbers fewer than 100 individuals.

Marine Habitat Protections

In order to protect species, we must protect the habitats they rely upon to survive. Much like terrestrial animals need habitat corridors and protected areas to live, marine animals also require habitat connectivity. That’s where the National Marine Sanctuary System comes in. Think of National Marine Sanctuaries as underwater national parks. A type of Marine Protected Area (MPA), our nation’s sanctuaries help safeguard wildlife from the Pacific to the Atlantic–and even in the Great Lakes! 

As of summer 2023, there are two National Marine Sanctuaries in the Gulf of Mexico. The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGNMS) sits about 100 miles off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. This sanctuary protects 17 unique coral reefs, which include three threatened coral reef species. Coral reefs are critical habitats teeming with iconic marine wildlife such as the threatened giant manta ray. The National Wildlife Federation and its members have long helped advocate for expansions to this sanctuary, and in 2021 we celebrated the three-fold expansion of the FGNMS, which now covers an entire 160 square miles.

The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS) extends from south of Miami westward to the Dry Tortugas area, protecting an entire 3,800 square miles between the Gulf of Mexico and the greater Atlantic Ocean. Home to the only coastal barrier reef in the continental U.S. as well as enormous stretches of seagrass meadows, this National Marine Sanctuary provides crucial habitat for 6,000 marine animals as well as idyllic recreation opportunities for ocean enthusiasts. Endangered species of this sanctuary include multiple species of coral, turtles and marine mammals as well as American crocodiles.

The National Wildlife Federation’s Gulf Team is a proud member of the Florida Keys Restoration Partnership, where we collaborate with multiple partners and stakeholders in order to further enhance conservation within the FKNMS. Together, we’ve provided input to NOAA on their updated Restoration Blueprint and have supported enhanced conservation measures including boundary expansions, ship discharge prohibitions, and additional nearshore habitat protections. We are advocating for a final rule to be published by the end of 2023 so these measures can begin on-the-ground. 

While MPAs do provide sanctuary for marine species, it’s worth noting that protected areas alone cannot save them. Climate change, ocean acidification and pollution continue to harm every reach of the ocean. This summer, the waters around the Florida Keys have seen record high temperatures, causing an early coral bleaching event. Bleached corals are extremely vulnerable to starvation and disease, and populations are already declining worldwide due to climate change. 

A buoy north of Key Largo registered a sea surface temperature of over 100 °F on July 24th, 2023–if verified, this would be the new world record for hottest sea surface temperature. This serves as a poignant reminder of the necessity to rapidly and drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions–without this, we cannot truly protect wildlife. 

NWF will continue to advance ocean protection and restoration. When we combine climate action with robust, existing national tools like the ESA and MPAs, the future looks bright.

To read another Endangered Species Act success story, click here.

Summer usually marks the arrival of more family activities. Since children are off from school many take advantage of this time to go on vacation. This means BBQs, beach trips, hiking, camping, flights, long drives across the country, and other activities that bring us together.

Let’s remember our wildlife neighbors this summer by ensuring our habits and activities support a healthy environment for all creatures.

Did you know? 

According to Beyond Plastics and The Last Beach Clean Up, of the 40 million tons of plastic generated in the United States in 2021, 85 percent was sent to a landfill. While about 10 percent was incinerated and approximately 5 percent was recycled. The study also reports that plastic production increases yearly while recycling rates decline.

Additionally, about 80 percent of the plastic that ends up in the ocean is from land-based activities, according to Fairplanet.org. This is due to waste blowing away, washing down sewers, and illegal dumping into rivers, waterways, and oceans. 

Many animals ingest plastic pollution or become entangled in plastic debris leading to starvation, suffocation, drowning, or other causes of death. Additionally, new studies are also finding that plastic pollution is disrupting the growth and hormones in animals as well.

A study in the General and Comparative Endocrinology Journal found toxins from plastic can affect development, interfere with reproduction, and increase malformations. Plastic is already known to be dangerous to wildlife by causing death and studies now show the extended effect plastic has on internal systems that are vital for survival.

Why does it matter? 

Every animal plays a vital role in maintaining the ecosystems that we live in. According to commentary in the Biology and Medicine journal, marine ecosystems are essential as they provide food security, animal feeds, and protection from coastal dangers such as floods and erosion. Additionally, the UN states that ocean habitats can sequester higher rates of carbon dioxide than terrestrial forests, making these habitats vital in the fight against climate change. 

Since plastic is now known to harm wildlife by affecting hormones, fertility, and internal body systems, we must consider the effects of the items we purchase and how they will be disposed of. These discoveries are in addition to other threats that harm marine life such as overfishing, ship-strikes, and climate change.

Degrading our marine ecosystems can have tremendous effects on many other ecosystems. Therefore, our ecosystems need our protection from the dangers that our land-based activities can cause. Evaluating how we produce waste is an important part of keeping our marine ecosystems healthy and supportive of all life.

What can I do?

There are many steps you can take to reduce your plastic consumption and therefore your plastic waste:

• When purchasing items for family and friend get-togethers, opt for items not packaged at all or packaged in materials that are easily and infinitely recyclable such as glass and aluminum or compostable such as paper.
• Replace single-use items with reusable options such as a stainless steel water bottle/coffee cup, a reusable tote for shopping, or bringing your own reusable utensils when eating outside of the home. 
• Use reusable cookware and storage when cooking and transporting food for parties and get-togethers, avoiding items like cling wrap and plastic cutlery. 
• Take responsibility for the plastic items you already own by taking good care of them and extending their life as long as possible. Teach children to also take care of the items they use and play with to ensure a longer lifetime before items are disposed of or discarded.

Research more ways to be plastic-free and follow experts in this field like Kathryn Kellogg @going.zero.waste, author of 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste, and Ashlee Piper @ashleepiper, author of Give A Sh*t: Do good. Live better. Save the planet., who are among many outstanding humans trying to show the world easier and simpler ways to decrease waste.

With over 500 species of sharks in the world, it’s no surprise that some sharks like to visit or live in our public waters. Check out some of the marvelous places these sightseeing sharks call home.

Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

Alaska

Along Alaska’s Aleutian chain—amid glaciers, volcanoes, and sprawling mountains—salmon sharks visit the waters of Kinzarof Lagoon in Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. These sharks have the ability to regulate their internal body temperature, allowing them to inhabit the colder waters of Alaska. Downstream from coastal brown bears, salmon sharks visiting Izembek can feast on five different species of salmon that fill the refuge’s waters in the late summer through fall.

Channel Islands National Park 

California 

This horn shark was spotted against the rocky ocean floor of Channel Islands National Park in California. The park’s rocky reefs, kelp forests, and deep submarine canyons are the perfect environment for the horn shark to crawl across the ocean floor. This small species (usually around 4 feet long) live a solitary life and primarily feed on small fish and invertebrates. 

Virgin Islands National Park

St. John, Virgin Islands 

Located in the tropical Atlantic, Virgin Islands National Park is encircled by mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. Young nurse sharks can be found among red mangrove roots, which provide crucial habitat for fish and lobsters—a perfect meal for hungry nurse sharks. Typically tan to dark brown in color, adult nurse sharks are covered in small black spots surrounded by a lighter area of pigmentation.

Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument 

Central Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Remote Island Areas Marine National Monument protects one of the world’s most pristine tropical marine environments. Encompassing almost 500,000 square miles in the central Pacific, these undisturbed waters amongst oceanic atolls and reef islands benefit many species, including grey reef sharks. Grey reef sharks are daytime socialites, spending time together during the day before heading out on their own to hunt at nighttime. 

Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park 

Hawaii

Tiger sharks, the second largest predatory shark in the world, can be seen in the crystal blue waters along Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park in Hawaii. Tiger sharks have a very expansive diet from coastal fish and invertebrates to sea turtles and even Hawaiian monk seals. They are known to look for food along the coast after a rainstorm when the murky ocean waters may contain inland fish that were swept into the ocean. 

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

Northern Gulf of Mexico

This whale shark was seen in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Gulf of Mexico. During the summer months, this giant fish feeds on tiny plankton along the northern Gulf’s continental shelf. Whale sharks have over 3,000 tiny teeth, but they are not used for feeding—these sharks are filter feeders that opportunistically feed on plankton, krill, fish eggs, and small fish.

Cape Cod National Seashore 

Massachusetts

Known for its jaws, the Atlantic great white shark can be found along the coastline of Cape Cod National Seashore. Seals are the major prey species for great white sharks, but both predator and prey populations were severely depleted by hunting and fishing until federal protections were put in place beginning in the 1970s. In recent summers, both seal and great white shark numbers have increased on the Cape. 

Learn more about sharks

• Test Your Shark Skills
• Not So Scary After All: Shark Facts You Might Not Know
• 5 Fascinating Facts from Ranger Rick: Shark Week Edition

While Jaws cemented the great white as the most well known shark species, there are hundreds of shark species in a mindblowing diversity of sizes, shapes and behaviors, and most of what you think you know about sharks isn’t quite true. Sharksーincluding white sharksーdon’t actively hunt humans, but we humans are decimating shark populations across the planet. Sharks are cool, and they need our help now more than ever. Read on to discover just how cool, and how you can help. 

Greater than Great Whites

Shark-fueled disaster movies like Jaws and Sharknado have popularized the great white shark as the king of the seas, but the white shark is just one of more than 500 species of shark in the world’s oceansーand counting! 

New species are still being discovered and described by science, like the recent discovery of the American pocket shark in the Gulf of Mexico. The tiny new species wasn’t named for its pocketable size, but rather for the pockets on either side of its body that excrete a glowing liquid to attract its prey.

If that photo doesn’t look like what you’d typically imagine a “shark” to look like, then the next photos may be even more surprising.

Sharks are elasmobranchs, a taxonomic group that also includes skates and rays. The visual similarities between sharks and their flatter cousins becomes apparent in species like the wobbegong shark:

…or the Argentine Angelshark:

Some sharks, like the sawshark, look less like rays and more like swordfish: 

They also vary greatly in size. While the sawshark grows to only around 5ft in length, the basking shark can grow up to 30 feet in lengthーthat’s as long as a school bus! And the whale shark, the largest fish in the sea, can be even largerーup to 40 feet long:

Sharks have a lot of unique adaptations. One defining feature is their skeleton, which is made up of cartilage rather than bone. Another is their teeth; sharks shed and grow new ones throughout their lifetimes. Unlike bony fish, they don’t have swim bladders for buoyancy, which allows sharks to move up and down through different depths in the water column without worrying about changes in pressure.

The positioning of their pectoral fins, which cannot bend upward like those of bony fish, means that they can only swim forwards. Many (but not all) shark species have to keep moving in order to keep water flowing over their gills so they can breathe.

Sharks reproduce via internal fertilization just like mammals, unlike most fish with eject eggs and sperm into the water for external fertilization. Some sharks lay eggs while others give birth to live pups!

Test your knowledge – take our shark facts quiz!

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Fish are Friends! Including Sharks!

While sharks have been demonized in pop culture due to their size, scary-looking teeth, and natural predatory behavior, deadly human-shark interactions disproportionately happen in fiction compared to their frequency in real life.

Sharks generally avoid humans and only interact out of curiosity, in defense when we threaten them or invade their territory, or if they confuse humans for their normal prey, which varies from fish to marine mammals to seabirds, depending on the species. But no matter the reason, shark interactions with humans are extremely rare occurrences.

Shark bite fatalities, while terrifying fuel for the imagination, only occur about six times per year. That’s in comparison to the 100 million sharks that are killed by humans every year! 

As predators, sharks are critically important to maintaining healthy marine ecosystems. Predators keep populations of prey species strong by feeding on the weak and the sick, and they keep prey populations in check which maintains a healthy balance. Many sharks are important prey for other wildlife from marine mammals, seabirds, and other fish (including other sharks). Healthy oceans directly benefit humans.

Climate Change, Overfishing, and Other Threats to Sharks

Sadly, many species of shark in American waters are endangered or threatened due to human activities. Overfishing threatens shark populations both by directly catching sharks and by depleting their food sources. Shark fin harvesting in particular threatens shark populations worldwide – it’s estimated 73 million sharks are killed globally each year for their fins. And as climate change and ocean acidification from human activities threaten coral populations throughout the world’s oceans, tropical sharks may lose critical food sources.

As global temperatures increase due to human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation, climate change is having already having a significant impact on the world’s oceans. Over 90 percent of the global warming that has happened over the past fifty years has occurred in the ocean. And as temperatures are rising, the acidity of the ocean is increasing from excess carbon dioxide, while the amount of dissolved oxygen is decreasing. In some areas, climate change is even changing the salinity levels of the water. While it is challenging to predict exactly how these impacts will affect highly mobile species like sharks, they will certainly impact the ecosystems many shark species depend on. For example, as ocean acidification threatens coral reefs throughout the world’s oceans, tropical sharks may lose critical food sources. Additionally, as warmer waters change global circulation patterns, sharks’ geographical ranges may change, exposing them to new threats.

TAKE ACTION – Tell your governor and members of Congress: Climate Action Now!

Take Action!

Many shark conservation efforts are underway in the U.S., as coastal states have developed wildlife action plans listing many sharks as species of greatest concern. The basking shark, whale shark, great white shark, and many others are high priority species for coastal states.

Still can’t shake your fear of sharks? If you are headed to the beach and worried about potentially interacting with marine lifeーalthough you’re much more likely to be harmed in a car accident driving to the beach than by a shark when you go swimmingーyou can minimize the tiny, tiny risk from sharks by keeping out of the water if you have a cut or are bleeding, and by not going swimming alone or at dawn, dusk or nighttime when many shark species are active. (No, dolphins are not going to protect you from sharks–in fact seeing dolphins could mean that sharks could be nearby as these two predators often hunt the same prey.)

So, whether you’re a Shark Week buff or a SharkFest follower, just remember: sharks are important ocean creatures, not human-hunting monstersーand they need our help!

Like what you read? Please consider making a donation to support our critical conservation work:

Get Motivated – Be Inspired – Take Action!

Biodiversity is critical for healthy oceans. Scientists have found a decline in ocean biodiversity has consequences on the stability of functioning ecosystems. This system is delicately balanced and when a component or multiple components are affected, the entire system and its interconnected parts feel the impact.

Sharks are not always apex predators, but no matter where in the food chain they exist, they play a critical and necessary role in its balance. They help maintain healthy and sustainable populations of the animals they consume. They also eat injured, sick, dying or dead animals, which keeps the oceans clean and keeps disease from spreading.

Healthy oceans need sharks, but the majority of the world’s population is afraid of these incredible animals. Replacing fear with facts and fascination is necessary in the fight to save sharks and save our oceans. Globally, 100 million sharks are killed each year (conservative estimate with the potential of 273 million being the actual number), targeted for their fins, meat and oil.

Sharks4Kids goal is to help students understand there is so much more to sharks than just their teeth – sharks are important to all of us. We are all connected and our actions impact others around the world. Sylvia Earle’s profound statement is something we strive to teach,

“With every drop of water you drink, every breath you take, you’re connected to the sea. No matter where on Earth you live.”

If something is not directly in our life each day, it’s easy to avoid it, but we can no longer avoid the issues facing our oceans.

Through education and outreach Sharks4Kids provide facts and exciting interactive tools for students to learn about sharks and how remarkable these creatures really are. We want students to get excited and realize sharks are not monsters of the sea and some even have belly buttons and buddies. Our team has worked with sharks in a wide range of capacities all over the globe, and by sharing our experiences, we are helping people of all ages change their perception.

We genuinely believe kids have a voice and can make a difference, so we are working to empower them with the tools to speak up and make a change. Simple actions like sharing facts, making a poster or using less plastic, can all help sharks. We also offer programs where students get to see real sharks and participate in research, which helps us create another connection to the ocean.

Ocean and shark conservation is a real issue that whether we realize it or not, is our problem, no matter who we are or where we live. So if it’s our problem, we can all be part of the solution. Organizations like ours providing real life examples and opportunities for kids to get involved and to be part of making a change. This is not just learning from a textbook, this is real life, real actions and really making a difference.

“Some of my favorite moments are when students share their desire to help sharks, especially students who thought sharks were killing machine and served no role in our oceans. Seeing that change and that passion is what inspires me to keep fighting for these animals everyday. These students give me hope for sharks, hope for the oceans and hope for all of us.”

About the Author
Jillian Morris is a marine biologist, shark advocate, scuba instructor, explorer and educator. She is the executive director of Oceanicallstars conservation media group and the creator of Sharks4Kids.

Eco-Schools USA is a K-12 program of the National Wildlife Federation focused on student-driven sustainability through leadership, STEM, action and community. To learn more and take action on biodiversity, visit our Pathways to Sustainability.

This Photo of the Day was donated by a participant in the annual National Wildlife Photo Contest. See more photos or sign up for the 42nd Annual National Wildlife Photo Contest.

1. As hunters, sharks rely on their keen sense of smell to find their next meal. They can smell a single drop of blood from over a mile away. In terms of relative volume, this is comparable to detecting a golf ball in Loch Ness.
2. The shark has the greatest electrical sensitivity of any animal. They have electroreceptors near their eyes and nose called Ampulae of Lorrenzini, which helps them sense electric fields emitted by other living creatures. By detecting these electric fields, sharks can find prey hidden in the sand.
3. Most sharks give birth to fully-developed babies, known as pups. In the womb, the litter of fully-grown pups wrestle for the limited space and will eat each other until there are only a few pups left. When they are born, they only have a few minutes to swim away, or else they risk being eaten by their own mother.  Some species of sharks lay egg sacs, known as mermaid’s purses.
4. Imagine that your entire body felt as squishy as your nose or your ear. For sharks, this is a reality, since their skeletons are made entirely of cartilage. Cartilage is flexible and durable, and reduces the skeleton’s weight. This allows the shark to save energy and to swim at high speeds towards prey.
5. A shark’s teeth are its most fearsome set of tools. But with all that wear and tear, sharks lose teeth continuously. Some may lose up to 30,000 or more in their lifetime. But not to worry, sharks constantly replace their lost teeth. Their rate of tooth replacement varies from once every 8–10 days to several months. If humans could do that, our dentists would be furious.

Today, many shark species are threatened or endangered, yet shark finning continues to be a popular commercial fishing practice, due to the high price of shark fin soup. Watch the following video to learn about what it takes to make this expensive Chinese delicacy.

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Want to help sharks? You can support NWF and protect sharks by adopting your very own Great White Shark!

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