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**Manta Ray
**Manta birostris and_ Manta alfredi_
Status: Vulnerable
Why: These filter-feeding giants are fished for their gill rakers, which are highly prized in Asian markets for Chinese medicine.
What You Can Do: Support dive operators that encourage passive encounters, and support Project AWARE. projectaware.org
**Hawksbill Turtle
**Eretmochelys imbricate
Status: Critically Endangered
Why: Illegal trade in hawksbill shells is rampant in eastern Asia despite protection by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
What You Can Do: Support conservation groups that work to protect nesting beaches. seeturtles.org
**Bluefin Tuna
**Thunnus spp
Status: Endangered
Why: Atlantic Bluefin tuna populations have declined drastically due to overfishing.
What You Can Do: Check sources like the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program for sustainable seafood choices. seafoodwatch.org
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**Leatherback Turtle
**Dermochelys coriacea
Status: Critically Endangered
Why: Overharvesting of eggs, destruction of habitats and entanglement in nets are threatening leatherback turtle populations.
What You Can Do: Donations and adoptions through the World Wildlife Fund support training for rangers to patrol and protect nests. worldwildlife.org
**Humphead Wrasse
**Cheilinus undulates
Status: Endangered
Why: A growing popularity in the live-reef-fish trade is impacting the humphead wrasse population, and the demand for these fish as a luxury menu item has led to overfishing.
What You Can Do: Support the WWF initiative to urge the president and the Senate to sign on to the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. worldwildlife.org
For simple Earth Day activities, check out 10 Small Ways to Help The Ocean.
