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| | Continental Shelves - MarineBio.org (Site not responding. Last check: 2007-09-29) |
 | | Continental shelves are an oasis in the ocean for plants and animals due to the abundance of sunlight, shallow waters, and nutrient packed sediment that washes in from rivers, wave action, and, in some areas, upwelling. |
 | | In addition to the vast amount of benthic life, the continental shelf is home to a variety of species such as tuna, menhaden, mackerel, and cod. |
 | | People have depended on the continental shelf for thousands of years to provide 90% of the fisheries production in the world and, more recently, for petroleum. |
| marinebio.org /Oceans/ContinentalShelves.asp (860 words) |
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