What is The Most Common Human Factor That Threatens Marine Species in The North Atlantic Ocean Region?

Abstract

In the North Atlantic Ocean Region, the greatest human threat to marine species is ship strikes. The many different species that reside in the ocean are affected greatly by various human factors such as pollution, ship traffic, infrastructure in the water and net entanglement. In this paper we establish that ship strikes cause the most damage to species in the North Atlantic region. We found that ship traffic affects many species greatly, from being the cause of death for 53% of the 40 Right whales autopsied between 1970 and 2006, to hundreds of sturgeon across three distinct regions killed by this method. Ship strikes are the most damaging factor, especially to the larger marine animals in the ocean such as whales and sturgeon. Our results not only show how one factor harms these species to a great extent, but how humans, through many different forms, greatly threaten the survival of other species. We conclude that these factors will continue to harm and threaten the well-being of species unless concerted action is taken to mitigate the effects.