// BEGIN editorial data
var i = 0;
var MarineSpeciesEndangered = new Array();
MarineSpeciesEndangered.sName = "MarineSpeciesEndangered";
MarineSpeciesEndangered.ID = "MarineSpeciesEndangered";
MarineSpeciesEndangered.ID_WB = 4351571;
MarineSpeciesEndangered.sPubDate = "2/25/2004 2:31:35 PM GMT";
MarineSpeciesEndangered.mainsectionID = "NEWS"
MarineSpeciesEndangered.navsectionID = "ENVIRONMENT"
MarineSpeciesEndangered.appFmt = 2;
MarineSpeciesEndangered.itemsPerPage = 1;
MarineSpeciesEndangered.appWidth = 460;
MarineSpeciesEndangered.appHeader = "FACT FILE|Marine species gone or on the brink";
MarineSpeciesEndangered.appFooter = "Source: Conservation International, BirdLife International, World Conservation Union, NOAA, California Department of Fish and Game ";
MarineSpeciesEndangered.appNavStyle = 3;
MarineSpeciesEndangered.appLayout = 3;
MarineSpeciesEndangered.copyHeight = 240;
MarineSpeciesEndangered.copyWidth = 320;
MarineSpeciesEndangered.copyMargin = 9;
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i++] = new Array("","","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i-1].body = "A coalition of conservation and government scientists put together a list reflecting the types of marine species lost over the years -- as well as those on the brink. They note that although extinctions are natural, the rate has increased dramatically in recent times, primarily due to human activity. Click on a category for examples of what's at stake.";
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i++] = new Array("","Extinct species","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i-1].body = "
Below are examples of some marine species known to have been lost, preceded by the year one was last seen:
1768—Steller’s sea cow
1840—Periwinkle
1844—Greak auk
1880—Sea mink
1929—Atlantic eelgrass limpet
1935—Horn snail
1952—West Indian monk seal ";
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i++] = new Array("","White abalone","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i-1].body = "
This oval, usually reddish mollusk generally measures between 5 and 8 inches in length.
Status: Listed on the U.S. Endangered Species Act as a domestic endangered species. Fewer than 2,000 are thought to remain (or 0.1 percent of the original population), with the greatest reduction in the last 30 years.
Distribution: Lives on rocky bottoms between 80 and 200 feet deep from southern California to Mexico’s Baja peninsula.
Threats: Past overcollection by fishers left the remaining individuals so widely dispersed that reproduction is difficult.
Actions needed: Maintain fishing closures, and continue programs to identify successful techniques for culture and reintroduction.";
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i++] = new Array("","Johnson's seagrass","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i-1].body = "
One of the smallest seagrasses, it has spatula-shaped leaves that occur in pairs less than one-inch long.
Status: Listed on the U.S. Endangered Species Act as a domestic threatened species.
Distribution: Sporadic patches down to 10 feet deep between Sebastian Inlet and north Biscayne Bay in southeastern Florida.
Threats: Intensive coastal development and high-traffic waters cause direct mortality and destructive habitat alteration.
Actions needed: Strictly enforced regulation of development and travel near critical habitats. Habitat restoration and transplantation techniques would be a last resort. ";
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i++] = new Array("","Vaquita","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i-1].body = "
The world’s smallest porpoise, it has a gray back fading to a white belly, with black eye rings and dark patches surrounding its lips.
Status: Listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union, with no more than 250 mature vaquita thought to remain.
Distribution: The smallest distribution for any marine cetacean, the vaquita is restricted to the upper Gulf of California, to a maximum depth probably no greater than 100 feet.
Threats: Killed in nets and other fishing gear as bycatch; some also suspect it suffers the effects of habitat alteration from reduced flow of the Colorado River, dammed upstream.
Actions needed: Fishing within the northern Gulf needs to eliminate the threat of bycatch. Means include fishing bans and safer fishing gear.";
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i++] = new Array("","Mediterranean monk seal","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i-1].body = "
Averaging about 8 feet long, this seal's fur color ranges from light gray to dark brown or black.
Status: Listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union, with a present population estimated at 300.
Distribution: Once found throughout the Mediterranean, eastern Atlantic, and Black Sea, it now is limited to two separate populations in the eastern Mediterranean and northwest Africa.
Threats: Hunted historically, and still occasionally killed by fishermen who perceive it as a competitor for fish. Additional threats from entanglement in fishing gear, habitat loss and degradation, and introduced species.
Actions needed: Stronger enforcement of existing protection measures, and fishing gear restrictions within critical habitats such as its feeding areas.";
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i++] = new Array("","Christmas Island frigate bird","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i-1].body = "
This large black seabird has a white belly, forked tail, and a pink bill.
Status: Listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union, with an estimated population of 3,200.
Distribution: Nests and breeds on Australia’s 3.5-square-mile Christmas Island, but forages throughout the east Indian Ocean and western Indo-Malayan archipelago.
Threats: Habitat destruction from phosphate mining removed as much as 25 percent of its breeding area. Two-thirds of the remaining population is restricted to one breeding colony, which increases its vulnerability to storms and fire. Perhaps the most serious threat is from the introduced Yellow crazy ant, which preys on nestlings.
Actions needed: The Christmas Tree Island National Park protects two-thirds of the breeding colonies, but additional measures should be taken against the ant. Other critical habitats and buffer zones might need extended protection.";
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i++] = new Array("","Totoaba","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i-1].body = "
This fish is known to have attained a maximum weight of 220 pounds and a length of 6.5 feet.
Status: Listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union. Some recent observations suggest hope that this species might show signs of recovery.
Distribution: Only along the northern Gulf of California and perhaps no deeper than 35 feet.
Threats: Overfishing from the 1920s-70s, when a ban was imposed. Poaching continues, though the greater threat now is probably from capture of juveniles in shrimp trawlers and loss of spawning habitat in the Colorado delta.
Actions needed: Strict enforcement of the fishing ban, and elimination of destructive trawling from nursery areas.";
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i++] = new Array("","North Atlantic right whale","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i-1].body = "
This mostly black whale, reaches a maximum weight of 100 tons and a length of 60 feet.
Status: Listed as endangered by the World Conservation Union, with mature individuals estimated at less than 250.
Distribution: Found in the north Atlantic to depths of more than 3,000 feet. The principal feeding grounds are in the Bay of Fundy, Roseway Basin, Great South Channel, and Cape Cod Bay.
Threats: This species was decimated by hunting, and today is threatened by entanglement in fishing nets, pollution, and collisions with ships.
Actions needed: Radical changes in fishing gear and measures to reduce the threat of ship collisions, such as diverting vessels from critical habitats.";
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i++] = new Array("","Leatherback sea turtle","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i-1].body = "
The largest sea turtle, it gets its name from the black, leathery carapace it has in place of the hard shell found on all other sea turtles. The largest can weigh a ton and reach lengths of six feet.
Status: Listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union. Up to 30,000 are thought to occur worldwide, but numbers are declining rapidly in many areas, including the Pacific, where a major nesting colony in Mexico plummeted from 70,000 in 1982 to less than 100 in 2002.
Distribution: Found in all tropical and subtropical waters of the world to a depth of 5,000 feet.
Threats: Overharvest of eggs and adults, death from ensnarement in fishing gear, coastal development, boat collisions, and pollution, including plastic debris which it confuses with its jellyfish prey.
Actions needed: Protection of critical habitats, reduction of pollutants, and control of fishing boats that capture the animals by accident.";
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i++] = new Array("","Brazilian guitarfish","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i-1].body = "
An elongated ray, it can measure up to three feet long and ranges in color from olive gray to brown, with white blotches.
Status: Listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union. Its population in Brazil has decreased by 96 percent in just one decade (1984-1994).
Distribution: Shallow coastal waters to over 130 feet, from the Lesser Antilles south to northern Argentina.
Threats: Overfishing and bycatch.
Actions needed: Protection via marine reserves and alternative livelihood options for coastal fishermen.";
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i++] = new Array("","Speckled hind","","","","", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "");
MarineSpeciesEndangered[i-1].body = "
A reddish-brown fish with white spots, it can reach a length of almost 4 feet and a weight of 65 pounds.
Status: Listed as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union.
Distribution: Found mostly between 150 and 300 feet on hard bottom reefs in the western Atlantic, from Bermuda and North Carolina south to the Bahamas and northern and eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Threats: Overfishing as a popular game and food fish.
Actions needed: Deep water marine reserves and restrictions on fishing, possibly supported by an education campaign.";
// END editorial data