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Threats from Above
Ocean giants face many threats from human activities. OVERFISHING reduces the plankton and fish that whale sharks and mantas eat. BYCATCH — accidentally catching large animals in fishing nets — entangles and drowns mantas and whale sharks. PLASTIC POLLUTION is deadly — a whale shark filtering 1,500 gallons of water per hour also swallows microplastics. BOAT STRIKES injure and kill these slow-moving giants. CLIMATE CHANGE warms oceans and disrupts plankton blooms, reducing the food supply for filter feeders.