They meet the IUCN [World Conservation Union] criteria for being critically endangered.

We expected to see declines, but we didn't expect such severe declines. If nothing changes, we could be facing barren oceans or oceans of fish we can't utilize.

These are species no one really cares about, but they play a key role in the ecosystem.

We're learning time and time again as fishery after fishery collapses that you reach such low numbers that they can be considered extinct.

Species declines change predator-prey dynamics, energy flow through systems, and ecosystem resilience, stability, function, and form.

The declines occurred on a timescale equal to, or slightly less than, a single generation of these species.