The 'Perfect Human Storm' Threatening Global Marine Life

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has expanded its 'red list' of threatened marine organisms (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/dec/09/marine-life-threatened-perfect-storm-red-list-reveals-species-on-brink-extinction-aoe). This 'perfect storm' of likely extinctions, is driven by diverse human activities. These include illegal and unsustainable fishing, exploration for fossil fuels/deep-sea mining, the climate crisis and disease spread. One might also reasonably add ocean acidification (another consequence of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide) and introductions of alien species to the mix. The IUCN appear very concerned about abalone shellfish. From South Africa to Australia, 20 of the world's 54 abalone species are currently at risk of completely disappearing. Dugongs, seagrass-grazing Mammals, are also now on IUCN's 'red list', as are turret-like Pillar coral. The common feature of these three examples is that these species are relatively static. It's much harder to establish the likely extinction status of much more mobile species. This difficulty is in addition to the fact that, humans tend to be more aware of anthropogenic impacts on terrestrial species (we live amongst them). Oceans mustn't be forgotten, when we attempt to reduce the planet's biodiversity loss.