The Environment Ministry on Tuesday revealed its red list of threatened marine species for the first time, designating 56 as endangered species, including the sand tiger shark.<\/b>
The Environment Ministry on Tuesday revealed its red list of threatened marine species for the first time, designating 56 as endangered species, including the sand tiger shark.
The ministry also designated the Ogasawara coral as extinct. The coral inhabited the Ogasawara Islands, located some 1,000 km south of Tokyo. The 56 consist of 16 fish species, six corals, 30 crustaceans and four others. Seventeen species were listed in the \u201cIA\u201d category, which contains those at the highest risk of becoming extinct. In total, 443 species were listed on the red list, including semi-endangered ones that could be designated as threatened due to possible changes in living conditions. Of the total, 224 were designated in the \u201cnot enough information\u201d category, meaning the ministry was unable to judge how threatened they are. \u201cThey could be judged as threatened species\u201d if the ministry has detailed information on them, a ministry official said. Also on Tuesday, the Fisheries Agency assessed the possibility of extinction of a total of 94 species, including small cetaceans and those covered by the agency\u2019s resource survey, such as the red sea bream and the flounder.<\/p>\n