Discover

What you'll meet on the water — and what to do about it.

Species of the Week

Eastern Box Turtle

Terrapene carolina

A hinge on its lower shell lets it close up completely, like a box.

Vulnerable

On the line

Anglers & crabbers

Striped Bass

Morone saxatilis

Least Concern

Summer Flounder

Paralichthys dentatus

Least Concern

Black Sea Bass

Centropristis striata

Least Concern

Bluefish

Pomatomus saltatrix

Vulnerable

American Eel

Anguilla rostrata

Endangered

Northern Snakehead

Channa argus

Least Concern

Atlantic Sturgeon

Acipenser oxyrinchus

Vulnerable

Blue Crab

Callinectes sapidus

Not Evaluated

American Lobster

Homarus americanus

Least Concern

On the trail

Turtles & amphibians

Eastern Box Turtle

Terrapene carolina

Vulnerable

Wood Turtle

Glyptemys insculpta

Endangered

Bog Turtle

Glyptemys muhlenbergii

Critically Endangered

Common Snapping Turtle

Chelydra serpentina

Least Concern

Painted Turtle

Chrysemys picta

Least Concern

Red-eared Slider

Trachemys scripta

Least Concern

Diamondback Terrapin

Malaclemys terrapin

Vulnerable

Eastern Hellbender

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis

Vulnerable

American Bullfrog

Lithobates catesbeianus

Least Concern

Spotted Salamander

Ambystoma maculatum

Least Concern

Red-spotted Newt

Notophthalmus viridescens

Least Concern

American Toad

Anaxyrus americanus

Least Concern

Under pressure

Endangered species

American Eel

Anguilla rostrata

Endangered

Atlantic Cod

Gadus morhua

Vulnerable

Atlantic Sturgeon

Acipenser oxyrinchus

Vulnerable

Bluefish

Pomatomus saltatrix

Vulnerable

Bog Turtle

Glyptemys muhlenbergii

Critically Endangered

Diamondback Terrapin

Malaclemys terrapin

Vulnerable

Eastern Box Turtle

Terrapene carolina

Vulnerable

Eastern Hellbender

Cryptobranchus alleganiensis

Vulnerable

Giant Manta Ray

Mobula birostris

Endangered

Great White Shark

Carcharodon carcharias

Vulnerable

Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Eretmochelys imbricata

Critically Endangered

Horseshoe Crab

Limulus polyphemus

Vulnerable

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Dermochelys coriacea

Vulnerable

Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Caretta caretta

Vulnerable

Nassau Grouper

Epinephelus striatus

Critically Endangered

Red Snapper

Lutjanus campechanus

Vulnerable

Wood Turtle

Glyptemys insculpta

Endangered

On the menu

Common Seafood

Atlantic Cod

Gadus morhua

Vulnerable

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

Thunnus thynnus

Least Concern

Yellowfin Tuna

Thunnus albacares

Least Concern

Atlantic Salmon

Salmo salar

Near Threatened

Mahi-Mahi

Coryphaena hippurus

Least Concern

Red Snapper

Lutjanus campechanus

Vulnerable

Swordfish

Xiphias gladius

Near Threatened

Atlantic Halibut

Hippoglossus hippoglossus

Near Threatened

European Sea Bass

Dicentrarchus labrax

Near Threatened

Atlantic Mackerel

Scomber scombrus

Least Concern

European Sardine

Sardina pilchardus

Least Concern

European Anchovy

Engraulis encrasicolus

Least Concern

Blue Crab

Callinectes sapidus

Not Evaluated

Dungeness Crab

Metacarcinus magister

Not Evaluated

Snow Crab

Chionoecetes opilio

Not Evaluated

Red King Crab

Paralithodes camtschaticus

Not Evaluated

American Lobster

Homarus americanus

Least Concern

Whiteleg Shrimp

Penaeus vannamei

Not Evaluated

Common Octopus

Octopus vulgaris

Least Concern

European Squid

Loligo vulgaris

Data Deficient

Striped Bass

Morone saxatilis

Least Concern

Summer Flounder

Paralichthys dentatus

Least Concern

Black Sea Bass

Centropristis striata

Least Concern

Bluefish

Pomatomus saltatrix

Vulnerable

American Eel

Anguilla rostrata

Endangered

Northern Snakehead

Channa argus

Least Concern

Leave them be

Protected Species

Green Sea Turtle

Chelonia mydas

Least Concern

Loggerhead Sea Turtle

Caretta caretta

Vulnerable

Leatherback Sea Turtle

Dermochelys coriacea

Vulnerable

Hawksbill Sea Turtle

Eretmochelys imbricata

Critically Endangered

Nassau Grouper

Epinephelus striatus

Critically Endangered

Great White Shark

Carcharodon carcharias

Vulnerable

Giant Manta Ray

Mobula birostris

Endangered

Common Bottlenose Dolphin

Tursiops truncatus

Least Concern

Humpback Whale

Megaptera novaeangliae

Least Concern

Atlantic Sturgeon

Acipenser oxyrinchus

Vulnerable

Bog Turtle

Glyptemys muhlenbergii

Critically Endangered

Ocean facts

Why any of this matters

50%

At least half the oxygen you breathe comes from the ocean

Plankton, drifting plants and photosynthesising bacteria in the surface ocean produce at least fifty percent of Earth's oxygen — most of it from organisms too small to see.

NOAA Ocean Service

80%

Most of the ocean has never been mapped or explored

More than eighty percent of the ocean remains unmapped, unobserved and unexplored. We have better maps of the surface of Mars than of our own seafloor.

NOAA Ocean Service

35%

Around a third of assessed fish stocks are overfished

The FAO estimates that roughly 35% of the world's assessed marine fish stocks are being fished beyond biologically sustainable limits — which is exactly why 'not endangered' does not mean 'fine to catch'.

FAO State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture

25%

Coral reefs shelter a quarter of all marine species

Reefs cover less than one percent of the seafloor yet support around a quarter of all marine life. Rising sea temperatures cause the coral to expel the algae it depends on, leaving it bleached and vulnerable.

NOAA Ocean Service

Blue carbon

Seagrass meadows are among the ocean's best carbon stores

Seagrass traps carbon in its sediments, stabilises the seabed and shelters juvenile fish. Grazing green turtles keep those meadows cropped and productive — protect the turtle and you protect the carbon store.

NOAA Ocean Service

~8%

Only about 8% of the ocean is under protection

Marine protected areas cover roughly eight percent of the ocean, and only a fraction of that is fully protected from extraction. The international target is thirty percent by 2030.

Protected Planet

Found something yourself?

Point your camera at it and find out what it is.

50 species · conservation data from the IUCN Red List via GBIF · Photo credits