Open+Ocean+Conservation

=Conservation of the Open Ocean = Humans significately impact the open ocean. A negitive impact is that around Alaska, ships oil spills effect the water, as well as land and animals. Oil covers animals, draging them down and causing them to drown. Animals can also absorb or ingest the oils, then becoming poisoned. A positive impact is nation and state parks. An example of a park is the Blue Spring State Park in Orange City, Florida. This park allows protection for manatees. There have been over 200 manatees at a time reported there.

About 100 million tons of trash is floating in the middle of the North Pacific, and its gowing. The vast sea of plastic and garbage streches for thousands of kilometers, from north of Hawaii to Japan. This area should be filled with coral, whales, fish and other sea life. To help stop this problem we can cut down on our trash. Re-using plastic packaging will significately lower the plastic that is being thrown into the ocean. Reducing the amount of plastic used will also help. You could also buy the reusable bags at your local grocery store.

Another problem in the open ocean is that 32 percent of sharks and rays are endangered. Despite the threat, sharks and rays remain unprotected, leaving them vulnerable to overfishing. The Great Hammerhead, Scalloped Hammerhead, Giant Devilray, Smooth Hammerheads, Great White, Basking, and Ocean Whitetip are endangered.We can fix this problem by giving sharks and rays a cordinated, international conservation plan.

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