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Giant drift nets, placed around the world’s oceans to catch commercial fish species, kill non-commercial animals just as efficiently, often taking far more of the latter for every useable species ensnared.
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Sea Lion Drowned in Drift Net

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Every year in Sardinia, Italy. tuna is fished using a large fixed net anchored on the bottom for the purpose to keep the fish inside to grow calm. But other animals like sunfish (shown here), turtles, dolphins, and others are also captured in the net, and
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Sunfish Entangled in Tuna Net

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Lost nets become entangled on a coral reef in the NW Hawaiian Islands, doing damage for decades. Wave action on the net breaks pieces of coral off until the net breaks, when it is free to catch on new reefs and do more damage.
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Lost Nets Hurt Coral Reefs

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The grasses and animals living in marshes help to filter water and stabilize shorelines, along with providing habitat for a variety of mammals, fish, shellfish and amphibians and a haven for migratory waterfowl.
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Wetlands to the Horizon

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The ocean plays an important role in our everyday lives—whether you live near the coast or not.
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Round Wave, Maui, Hawaii, USA

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Traditional fishing techniques now involve monofilament nets, with snorkelers diving down to ensure the bigger fish don't get away.
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Fishing with a Net

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A ribbon worm curled up in a mud flat.
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A Ribbon Worm From the Mud Flats

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Millions of sharks are caught each year for their dorsal fins, which are prized for shark fin soup. Top predators like sharks are important to maintaining biodiversity, and their removal can have ripple effects through an ecosystem.
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Finned Sharks in South Africa

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The Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park site in the Philippines was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999. The site's topography varies from flat plains to rolling hinterlands and hills to mountain peaks, encompassing a complete mountai
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Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Philippines

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The Banc d'Arguin National Park site in Mauritania was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1989. Fringing the Atlantic coast, the park comprises sand dunes, coastal swamps, small islands, and shallow coastal waters. A wide variety of migrating birds sp
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<span lang="fr">Banc d'Arguin</span> National Park, Mauritania

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The East Rennell site in the Solomon Islands was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1998. The site contains one of the largest raised coral atolls in the world, with a marine area extending three nautical miles to sea. The strong climatic effects
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East Rennell, Solomon Islands

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The Peninsula Valdes in Argentina was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999. The site is home to important breeding populations of the endangered southern right whale (Eubalaena australis), southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), and southern sea
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Península Valdés, Argentina

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