The word “marine” comes from the Latin word “mare” which means “sea”. Marine life means all the animal and plant species that live in the waters of the sea.
The geography of the sea bed, the floor of the sea, is not so different from that of the land. There are hills, high mountains, valleys, rolling plains and plateaus. Below the low tide mark, the bottom of the sea slopes gently downwards to a depth of about 100 fathoms, in the form of a shelf known as the continental shelf.
On the surface of the sea there are tiny floating plants and animal, including the eggs and young of larger animals and jelly fishes, they are called plankton.The plankton is important because a great many fishes feed on it.
Several kinds of animals such as crabs, lobsters, shrimps, squids, octopuses, Molluscs (selfish of all kinds), and sponges live in the seashore. Such animals can also be found on the continental shelf, but the animals that live in the deeper waters are usually larger.
Sea live in the shallow waters, no deeper than 50 fathoms as they need fairly strong sunlight to assimilate their food. In China and Japan seaweeds are eaten, in Europe caragean is used for thickening soup and making jellies.
The really deep sea is cold and dark because the sunlight can not penetrate the depths. The pressure in the deep sea is higher than in the shallow water, and the fishes are much more fragile and delicate appearance than those from parts of the sea where the pressure is lower. Some have large eyes and can see, but others are completely blind.
We should look on the sea as a valuable source of food. Fishing industries should know the locations of the fish they are trying to catch, and how many can be caught without killing off the whole species.
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