Editing Yellow Sea (section)

==Flora and fauna==
{{see also|Wildlife of China}}
[[File:Bar-tailed Godwit9may.png|thumb|Migration paths and resting grounds of [[bar-tailed godwit]] at the Yellow Sea.<ref>[https://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/shorebirds/barg_updates.html Bar-tailed Godwit Updates] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130220001224/http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/shorebirds/barg_updates.html |date=20 February 2013 }}, USGS</ref>]]

The sea is rich in seaweed (predominantly [[kelp]], ''Laminaria japonica''), [[cephalopod]]s, [[crustacean]]s, [[shellfish]], [[clam]]s, and especially in [[Cyanobacteria|blue-green algae]] which bloom in summer and contribute to the water color (see image above). For example, the [[seaweed]] production in the area was as high as 1.5 million tonnes in 1979 for China alone. The abundance of all these plant and animal species increases toward the south and indicates a high sea productivity, accounting for the diversity of fish species and high fish yield from the sea.<ref>Chikuni, pp. 8, 16, 19</ref> Several species of [[Gobiidae|goby]] new to science have been discovered recently{{when|date=July 2023}} in the Yellow Sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Earth_from_Space_The_Yellow_Sea_of_China|title=Earth from Space: The Yellow Sea of China|last=esa}}</ref>

The southern part of the Yellow Sea, including the entire west coast of [[Korea]], contains a {{convert|10|km|mi|abbr=on|adj=mid|-wide}} belt of [[Intertidal zone|intertidal]] [[mudflat]]s, which has the total area of {{convert|2850|km2|abbr=on}} and is maintained by {{convert|4|-|10|m|abbr=on}}. Those flats consist of highly productive sediments with a rich benthic fauna and are of great importance for [[bird migration|migratory]] [[wader]]s and shorebirds.<ref>Maurice L. Schwartz (2005) [https://books.google.com/books?id=VWnxpAxp6TMC&pg=PA60 Encyclopedia of coastal science], {{ISBN|1-4020-1903-3}} p.&nbsp;60</ref> Surveys show that the area is the single most important site for migratory birds on northward migration in the entire [[East Asian – Australasian Flyway]], with more than 35 species occurring in internationally significant numbers. Two million birds, at minimum, pass through at the time, and about half that number use it on southward migration.<ref name=Barter2002>Barter, M.A. (2002). ''Shorebirds of the Yellow Sea – importance, threats and conservation status''. Wetlands International Global Series Vol. 9. International Wader Studies Vol. 12. Canberra {{ISBN|90-5882-009-2}}</ref><ref name=Barter2005>Barter, M.A. (2005). ''Yellow Sea – driven priorities for Australian shorebird researchers''. pp. 158–160 in: "Status and Conservation of Shorebirds in the East Asian – Australasian Flyway". Proceedings of the Australasian Shorebird Conference, 13–15 December 2003, Canberra, Australia. International Wader Studies 17. Sydney.</ref> About 300,000 migrating birds were transiting annually only through the [[Saemangeum]] tidal flat area. This estuary was however [[dam]]med by South Korea in 1991–2006 that resulted in drying off the land.<ref>[http://www.birdskorea.org/Habitats/Wetlands/Saemangeum/BK-HA-Saemangeum-Mainpage.shtml Saemangeum and the Saemangeum Shorebird Monitoring Program (SSMP) 2006–2008], Birds Korea</ref> Land reclamation also took 65% of the intertidal area (of China, North Korea and South Korea) between the 1950s and 2002,<ref name = Murray/> and as of 2005 there were plans to reclaim a further 45%.<ref>David Lindenmayer, Mark Burgman, Mark A. Burgman (2005) [https://books.google.com/books?id=syrqsTQVWC8C&pg=PA172 Practical conservation biology], {{ISBN|0-643-09089-4}} p. 172</ref>

Populations of oceanic [[megafauna]], such as [[marine mammal]]s, [[sea turtle]]s, and larger fish, have decreased in modern times, not only due to pollution but also due to hunting. Japanese industrial whaling<ref name="Weller, D. et al 2002">{{cite journal|title=The western gray whale: a review of past exploitation, current status and potential threats|author=Weller, D.|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1084&context=usdeptcommercepub|journal= J. Cetacean Res. Manage|volume= 4|issue=1|pages=7–12|year=2023|doi=10.47536/jcrm.v4i1.861 |s2cid=35795229 |display-authors=etal|access-date=2016-03-10|doi-access=free}}</ref> and illegal mass operations by the Soviet Union with support from Japan<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Berzin A. |author2=Ivashchenko V.Y. |author3=Clapham J.P. |author4=Brownell L. R.Jr. |year=2008|title=The Truth About Soviet Whaling: A Memoir|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=usdeptcommercepub|journal=DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln|access-date=2016-03-10}}</ref> have been major drivers of population decline. Species that reside in the area today include [[spotted seal]]s, and cetaceans such as [[minke whale]]s, [[killer whale]]s,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ocean.kisti.re.kr/downfile/volume/kofis/KSSHBC/2012/v45n5/KSSHBC_2012_v45n5_486.pdf |title=Distribution of Whales and Dolphins in Korean Waters Based on a Sighting Survey from 2000 to 2010|website=ocean.kisti.re.kr|access-date=2020-09-19}}</ref> [[false killer whale]]s, and [[finless porpoise]]s, but nonetheless all the remnants of species listed could be in very small numbers. Historically, large whales were abundant either for summering and wintering in the Yellow and Bohai Seas. For example, a unique population of resident [[fin whale]]s and [[gray whale]]s<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275960466|title=A Gray Area: On the Matter of Gray Whales in the Western North Pacific (PDF Download Available)|website=ResearchGate}}</ref> were historically presented,<ref>Mizroach A.S.. Rice W.D.. Zwiefelhoffer D.. Waite J.. Perryman L.W.. 2009. [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2009.00147.x/abstract Distribution and movements of fin whales in the North Pacific Ocean]. on The Wiley Online Library. Retrieved on 3 January. 2015</ref> or possibly hosted some [[North Pacific right whale]]s<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chuansong.me/n/2457684|title=我国沿海鲸类（–）– – 须鲸篇（下）_科学公园_传送门|website=chuansong.me}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/cobi.12664 | pmid=26632250 | volume=30 | issue=4 | title=A spatially explicit estimate of the prewhaling abundance of the endangered North Atlantic right whale | year=2016 | journal=Conservation Biology | pages=783–791 | author=Monsarrat Sophie| bibcode=2016ConBi..30..783M | s2cid=3795740 }}</ref> and [[Humpback whale]]s (3 whales including a cow calf pair was observed at [[Changhai County]] in 2015<ref name="长海又现鲸鱼 这回是好几条">{{Cite web|url=http://www.hilizi.com/html/2015/dalianxinwen_1008/138370.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609191107/http://www.hilizi.com/html/2015/dalianxinwen_1008/138370.html|url-status=dead|title=长海又现鲸鱼 这回是好几条|archive-date=9 June 2016}}</ref><ref>[http://www.wedalian.com/wxarticle-show-id-180141.html 大连长海又见鲸鱼 – 家亲！三条！四条] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160602061216/http://www.wedalian.com/wxarticle-show-id-180141.html |date=2 June 2016 }}</ref>) year-round other than migrating individuals, and many other migratory species such as [[Baird's beaked whale]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Huogen W.|author2=Yu W.|year=1998|title=A Baird's Beaked Whale From the East China Sea|url=http://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTOTAL-CHAN805.002.htm|journal=Fisheries Science, 1998-05|page=CNKI – The China National Knowledge Infrastructure|access-date=2015-09-07}}</ref>
Even [[blue whale]]s, [[Japanese sea lion]]s, [[dugong]]s (in southern regions only),<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/yellow_sea.cfm |title=Yellow Sea &#124; WWF |access-date=2016-03-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310083055/http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/yellow_sea.cfm |archive-date=10 March 2016}}</ref> and [[leatherback turtle]]s used to breed or migrate into Yellow and Bohai seas.<ref>Mr.Z. Charlie. 2008. [https://archive.today/20150103130634/http://wenwen.sogou.com/z/q103329192.htm?ch=from.t.qq 我国的渤海里有没有鲸鱼] on [[Sogou]] – Wenwen. Retrieved on 3 January. 2015</ref>

[[Spotted seal]]s are the only resident species of seal in the Yellow Sea. A sanctuary for these seals is situated at [[Baengnyeongdo]], which is also known for its [[finless porpoise]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sisapress.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=52010|title=백령도 어부들의 친구 쇠돌고래}}</ref> [[Great white shark]]s have also been known to prey on seals in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vop.co.kr/A00000264188.html|title=백상아리, 백령도서 물범 공격장면 국내 첫 포착 – 민중의소리|website=www.vop.co.kr|date=19 August 2009 }}</ref>