“Vulnerable”, “endangered”, then “critically endangered” and finally “extinct in the wild”. These categories of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species reflect the health status of species on the planet. On the occasion of Cop15, the UN conference on biodiversity being held in Montreal (Canada), the organization updated this reference document on Friday, December 9, which now includes 150,388 species, of which 42,108 are threatened with extinction.
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This latest update “highlights the large number of threats affecting marine species”, says the IUCN in its press releaseciting illegal and unsustainable fishing, pollution, disease and climate change, which affects at least 41% of threatened marine species. More than 1 550 of 17 903 assessed species of marine animals and plants are threatened with extinction. Here are the three species affected by this disturbing update.
The dugong, a large herbivorous marine mammal
Now, all dugong populations across the globe are considered “vulnerable”. Populations in East Africa, where there are less than 250 mature individuals, join the “critically endangered” category, while populations in New Caledonia (less than 900 adult individuals) are “endangered”. on the IUCN Red List.
Dugongs are threatened due to many factors, all of which are man-made, such as “unintentional captures in fishing gear in East Africa and poaching in New Caledonia, as well as injuries from boats in both areas”, list the IUCN press release. It also points to the degradation and loss of seagrass beds on which this herbivore depends for food.
Again, human activity is involved. In East Africa, “oil and gas exploration and production, trawling, chemical pollution and unauthorized coastal developments” are designated as responsible. In New Caledonia, the “agricultural runoff, pollution from nickel mining and coastal development, and damage from boat anchors” are held to be at fault. Add to it “the impacts of climate change” who “represent a threat throughout the dugong’s range”.
Head of Evaluation for East Africa, Evan Trotzuk said in this statement that “Strengthening community fisheries governance and expanding employment opportunities beyond fishing are critical in East Africa, where marine ecosystems are fundamental to food security and livelihoods populations”.
“The creation of additional conservation areas (…) would also allow local communities and other stakeholders to find, implement and benefit from solutions that would halt the long-term decline of dugongs and the extent and the quality of seagrass beds.”
Evan Trotzuk, Head of Dugong Population Assessment in East Africain the IUCN press release
Abalone, the most expensive seafood in the world
Twenty of the world’s 54 abalone species are threatened with extinction, according to their first global assessment on the IUCN Red List. Among the most expensive seafood in the world, abalones are mostly victims of unsustainable harvesting. South African abalone (Haliotis mididae)considered “endangered”, is poached by criminal networks linked to drug trafficking, explains the IUCN.
These “primary threats are compounded by climate change, disease and pollution”, continues the organization. Under the ocean, global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions linked to human activities manifests itself in destructive heat waves. In 2011, 99% of Roe’s abalones (Haliotis roei) were decimated by one of them, in waters off northwest Australia.
“Marine heat waves have exacerbated diseases affecting abalone worldwide, including black abalone [Haliotis cracherodii]‘critically endangered’, in California and Mexico, and abalone tuberculate‘vulnerable’, present from the English Channel to North-West Africa and the Mediterranean”, continues the IUCN. These marine heat waves also kill the algae on which these species feed.
In the Arabian Peninsula, the Omani abalone (Haliotis mariae) has disappeared from half of its range. In question : the role of “pollution caused by agricultural and industrial runoff” in the proliferation of harmful algae, as well as the discharge into the sea of toxins, such as the paint of boats, explains the IUCN.
To put an end to these threats, Howard Peters, mollusc specialist and research associate at the University of York, United Kingdom, recommends in the IUCN report to “eat only farmed or sustainably sourced abalone”. The researcher adds that “the enforcement of fishing quotas and anti-poaching measures is also essential”.
“We also need to halt changes in ocean chemistry and temperature to sustain marine life, including abalone species, for the long term.”
Howard Peters, researcher at the University of Yorkin the IUCN press release
Candle coral, a diseased species in the Caribbean
The candle coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) is found throughout the Caribbean, from the Yucatan Peninsula to Florida or Trinidad and Tobago. But its population has shrunk by more than 80% over most of its range since 1990. The species was already on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It goes this time from “vulnerable” to “critically endangered”.
The most urgent threat to candle coral “is coral tissue loss disease, which has emerged in the last four years, and is highly contagious”, details the IUCN. It infects between 90 and 100 meters of reef per day, continues the organization. “Bleaching caused by rising sea surface temperatures and excess antibiotics, fertilizers and sewage dumped into the sea have weakened corals and made them more susceptible to disease.” In addition, “overfishing around coral reefs has decimated herbivorous fish, allowing algae to dominate ecosystems and putting further pressure on corals.”
“We must urgently address the interconnected climate and biodiversity crises through profound changes in our economic systems, or we risk losing the crucial benefits that the oceans provide us.”
Bruno Oberle, IUCN Director Generalin a press release
Faced with the challenge of restoring nature“we just can’t afford to fail”recalled the director of the IUCN, from the Cop15 in Montreal.
