Manatee Cousins, Coral And Abalone Among 10% Of Marine Life At Risk Of Extinction

Topline

Nearly one in ten marine plants and animal species are at risk of extinction according to a new report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which found that climate change driven by human activity is a major factor and “decimating” sea life around the globe.

Pretty Girl: Wuru the dugong acquaints herself with the new Mermaid Lagoon exhibit at the Sydney … [+] Aquarium on December 19, 2008.

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) tracks threatened species on its Red List, the world’s most comprehensive tally on the global status of biological diversity.

The latest update to the list, published Friday, found that about 9% of the 17,930 marine species assessed are at risk of going extinct and that 41% are impacted by climate change.

One of the most affected types of marine life are abalone shellfish species, or marine snails, of which 44% included on the list are threatened by extinction, the IUCN said.

Populations of dugongs—marine mammals related to manatees—in East Africa and New Caledonia have also been designated as critically endangered and endangered, respectively, with fewer than 250 adults left in East Africa and less than 900 in New Caledonia.

Pillar coral, which grows from the Yucatan Peninsula to across the Caribbean, has also declined by more than 80% since 1990, according to the IUCN, which named the species critically endangered.

The human activity that negatively affects mammal life includes unsustainable fishing practices, illegal poaching and pollution, while climate change has contributed to more frequent marine heatwaves that has resulted in mass mortalities among sea life.

News Peg

The report was released in tandem with a United Nations summit in Montreal, where UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on countries to work together to form a new global environmental pact, warning the world must stop the “orgy of destruction” that is climate change.

Big Number

150,388. That’s how many species are on the Red List. Some 28% are at risk of extinction, the IUCN said Friday.

Crucial Quote

“Underwater, you can’t really see what’s going on. And so by assessing the status of the species it gives us a real indicator of what is really happening there, and it’s not good news,” IUCN head Craig Hilton-Taylor told Reuters.

Key Background

Sea life can be particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. A study released in April found that rising temperatures caused by greenhouse gasses could trigger one of the worst mass extinction events in history in the world’s oceans within the next 300 years if emissions are not controlled. President Joe Biden said in November the U.S. would cut emissions in hopes of avoiding a “climate hell.”