Five species (7%) were listed as Near Threatened (Table 2):
Halophila engelmanni, H. nipponica, Posidonia australis, Zostera
asiatica and Zostera caulescens. Although estimated population
declines for species listed as Near Threatened were not high
enough to meet the threshold for a threatened category, if current
declines continue these species may well qualify for a threatened
category in the near future. For example, Z. asiatica in Japan and
Korea is a deep-water species that is vulnerable to decreases in
water clarity due to shoreline hardening, aquaculture, anthropogenic
pollution and other human activities (IUCN, 2010).