Fishing Gone Wrong
This term describes catching more fish than a population can naturally replace.
What is overfishing?
This type of pollution involves plastic items breaking down into tiny particles less than 5 millimeters long.
What are microplastics?
This gas dissolves into seawater and lowers the ocean’s pH, causing acidification.
What is carbon dioxide (CO₂)?
This long-term increase in average global temperatures is one major driver of ocean warming.
What is global warming?
These underwater forests are threatened by warming waters and sea urchin overgrazing.
What are kelp forests?
This type of unintended capture often harms sea turtles, dolphins, and seabirds.
What is bycatch?
Runoff carrying fertilizers into the ocean contributes to this type of nutrient pollution.
What is eutrophication?
These marine organisms, including oysters and corals, struggle to build shells when acidity increases.
What are calcifiers?
Coral bleaching occurs when corals lose these symbiotic organisms due to heat stress.
What are zooxanthellae?
This type of development removes wetlands and alters coastlines, harming many juvenile marine species.
What is coastal development?
These large nets dragged along the seafloor catch many species at once and can cause high bycatch.
What are bottom trawls?
This kind of pollution from ships and industrial activities can coat birds’ feathers and harm marine mammals.
What is oil pollution?
Algal blooms caused by nutrient pollution can lead to these dangerously low-oxygen areas.
What are dead zones?
As ocean temperatures rise, many marine species shift their ranges toward these regions.
What are the poles?
Coral reefs are destroyed when explosives or cyanide are used to catch fish, a harmful method called this.
What is blast fishing or cyanide fishing?
This certification label on seafood products helps consumers choose sustainably caught fish.
What is the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label?
Excessive underwater noise from shipping and drilling disrupts communication in these highly vocal marine animals.
What are whales?
Some algal blooms produce toxins that can contaminate shellfish, causing this general category of health risk.
What is shellfish poisoning?
Rising atmospheric CO₂ not only warms oceans but also contributes to this change in global sea level.
What is sea level rise?
This habitat, found where rivers meet the sea, filters pollution but is often filled or dredged for construction.
What is an estuary?
These areas, where fishing is prohibited or highly restricted, help fish populations recover from overfishing.
What are Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)?
This is a tool water scientists use to determine the flow of trash and chemicals to nearby bodies of ater.
What is watershed mapping
This chemical form of carbon decreases during acidification, making it harder for marine animals to form calcium carbonate structures.
What is carbonate ion (CO₃²⁻)?
This large-scale climate pattern, influenced by trade winds and ocean temperature cycles, can alter marine food webs during strong events.
What is El Niño?
This process of removing the top layer of the seafloor to extract minerals can wipe out entire benthic ecosystems.
What is seafloor mining?