The Coral Triangle is home to hundreds of shark and ray species, many threatened by finning and targeted fishing. Shark finning — removing fins and discarding the still-living body at sea — causes prolonged suffering before drowning. Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) — the world's largest fish — are targeted in some areas (Oslob, Philippines whale shark feeding/interaction tourism raises welfare concerns about altered natural behavior). Manta ray gill plates are harvested for traditional medicine markets, significantly depleting populations.
All six sea turtle species found globally nest in Coral Triangle waters. Indonesia hosts the world's largest leatherback nesting population at Jamursba-Medi, Papua. Philippines has important hawksbill and green turtle populations. Welfare threats include bycatch in trawl and longline fisheries, egg harvesting, and marine debris entanglement. Several local communities have transitioned from turtle hunting to turtle tourism, creating economic welfare co-benefits.
The Coral Triangle's extraordinary reef fish diversity (2,000+ species) is exploited by subsistence and commercial fisheries. Cyanide fishing — using sodium cyanide to stun fish for live reef food fish trade — causes significant welfare harm to target fish and kills non-target species including corals. Blast fishing with dynamite causes mass mortality events. Both illegal practices persist despite bans due to economic pressures and enforcement limitations.
Coral bleaching events from rising sea temperatures affect the Coral Triangle with increasing frequency. The 2015-2016 bleaching event affected significant portions of Indonesian and Philippine reefs. Bleaching kills corals and removes habitat for thousands of reef-dependent species, with cascading welfare impacts across the food web. Ocean acidification additionally threatens shell-forming species.