At least 81 bird species inhabit U.S. marine waters, spending their lives at sea and  returning to islands and coasts to nest.

At least 39% of bird species in U.S. marine waters are believed to be declining, but data are lacking for many species.

Of 81 ocean bird species, almost half are of conservation concern.

4 that are federally listed as endangered or threatened.

37% of ocean bird species have stable population trends.

12% of the 81 ocean bird species have  increasing populations.

12% of ocean birds do not have enough data available to determine population trends.

Longline fisheries worldwide injure and drown as many as 60 bird species.

Reference: North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Committee, 2009. The State of the Birds, United States of America, 2009. U.S. Department of Interior: Washington, DC.

7,600 – Estimated square miles covered by shallow-water coral reefs in the United States

375 billion – Estimated annual amount in goods and services coral reef ecosystems provide worldwide

500 million – Number of people worldwide that depend on coral reefs for food, income, and resources

50% – Amount of federally managed commercial fish species that need coral reefs for at least part of their life cycle

67% – Percent of reef fish species overfished in U.S. waters of the south Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean

90-96% – Percent of nearshore coral species killed by white band disease in the 1990s

>2,000 – Number of coral species listed under CITES

United States – The world’s largest importer of ornamental coral reef resources

$360 million – Estimated amount of money generated by coral reefs for recreation per year in Hawaii

33% – Percent of all marine fish species that call coral reefs home

6 million – The metric tons of seafood harvested annually from coral reef fisheries

0.2% – The amount of ocean area covered by tropical coral reefs

Data: U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy. An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century. Final Report. 2004

General stats quoted from the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy’s Final Report: An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century:

In 2001, 23 percent of the nation’s estuarine areas were considered impaired for swimming, fishing, or supporting marine species.

In 2003, there were more than 18,000 days of closings and advisories at ocean and Great Lakes beaches, most due to the presence of bacteria associated with fecal contamination.

Across the globe, marine toxins afflict more than 90,000 people annually and are responsible for an  estimated 62 percent of all seafood related illnesses.

Experts estimate that 25 to 30 percent of the world’s major fish stocks are overexploited.

While coastal watershed counties comprise less than 25 percent of the land area in the United States, they are home to more than 52 percent of the total U.S. population.

On average, some 3,600 people a day are moving to coastal counties, suggesting that by 2015 coastal populations will reach a total of 165 million.

Approximately 80 percent of marine debris originates on land, either washed along in runoff, blown by winds, or intentionally dumped from shore, while 20 percent comes from offshore platforms and vessels, including fishing boats.

In 2000, the ocean economy contributed more than $117 billion to American prosperity and supported well over two million jobs.

Currently, about 30 percent of the nation’s oil supplies and 25 percent of its natural gas supplies are produced from offshore areas

There are about 80 species of cetaceans, which includes dolphins, porpoises and whales.

The great whale grouping includes all baleen whales and the toothed sperm whale, and range in size from 30 to 100 feet in length.

In 1994 the International Whaling Commission established a sanctuary in the waters around the Antarctic, which permanently bans whaling.  However, a loophole provides exemptions for “scientific research”.  As of November 2008, Japan reduced its  whale take from 945 minke whales to 750. However, they did not alter their quota of 50 endangered fin whales.

Great Whale Populations (IWC population estimates)

Minke whale – 970,800
Blue whale – 2,300
Humpback whale – 63,600
Fin whale – 33,200
Gray whale – 26,420
Bowhead whale – 11,730
Right whale – 7,800
Pilot whale – 780,000

In the South Tasman Rise, high seas south of Australia, fishing records show that 1.6 tons of coral was hauled aboard trawling vessels per hour in 1997.  In that year, more than 10,000 tons of coral bycatch was estimated to be captured, but less than 4,000 tons of their actual orange roughy target was caught (Deep Sea Conservation Coalition).

The United Nations Environment Programme recorded more than 4.4 million pounds of coral and sponge bycatch in the Aleutian Islands between 1990-2002.

In September 2008, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization failed to reach an agreement that would protect threatened deep-sea zones, although they partially closed two seamount areas with the caveat that 20% is still open to exploratory fishing (NAFO).

“Orange Roughy, one of the most commercially fished deep-water species. Orange Roughy can live for around 150 years and do not begin to breed until they are around 25 years old, making them extremely susceptible to over-fishing.” (NOAA)

Country share of a total 2001 catch of 205,024 tons of high seas bottom trawl:

Spain- 41%
Russia- 14%
Portugal- 7%
Norway- 7%
Estonia- 7%
Faroe Island- 6%
Japan- 4%
Lithuania- 4%
Iceland- 2%
Other- 8%

International Coastal Cleanup 2008

-Volunteers traversed 17,000 miles of coastline and collected 11,439,086 million pieces of trash, from cigarette butts to grocery bags to fast-food wrappers.

-This is equivalent to more than 400 pounds of debris for every mile of beach cleaned.

-Via boats, 1,236 people collected 38,224 pounds of debris that could not be reached from land, and 10,600 divers (organized by the Project AWARE Foundation), dove below the water’s surface to haul out 219,528 pounds.

-A total of 6,485 sites, spanning beaches in South Korea to rivers and waterways in Kansas, were cleaned.

Stats: Ocean Conservancy