Daily Times

KARACHI: On the occasion of World Turtle Day, celebrated on May 23, WWF-Pakistan has stressed the need for the conservation of marine and freshwater turtles in Pakistan which are already suffering because of habitat degradation, entanglement in fishing gears, climate change and illegal wildlife trade.

Five species of marine turtles are found in Pakistan, out of which green turtle, which nests along Pakistan’s coast is the most common one. There are also eight species of freshwater turtles and two species of land tortoises present in the country. It is reported that green turtles nest on sandy shore along the Sindh and Balochistan coast. In Sindh important nesting grounds are Sandspit, Hawksbay, and Paradise Point; whereas along the Balochistan coast they are Sonmiani, Taq (Ormara), Astola Island and Daran (Jiwani) where every year thousands of marine turtles come to lay their eggs.

The World Turtle Day has been celebrated since 2000. It was started by the American Tortoise Rescue, a US based NGO, in 2000 to bring attention to and spread awareness about turtles and tortoises. This initiative also encourages human action to help these reptiles survive and thrive in their natural habitats. Since then, the international community celebrates this day with the aim of creating awareness about these curious reptiles which have been surviving for more than 100 million years but are now facing the increasing threat of extinction.

The major threats faced by marine turtles in Pakistan are mortality in fishing operations (high bycatch), pollution, habitat degradation and climate change, which may wipe out precious marine life including majestic turtle species. No confirmed report of nesting of the Olive Ridley turtle, another species which used to nest on Pakistani beaches, has been reported since the last 14 years. WWF-Pakistan studies, however, revealed that this species is the most common species found in offshore areas of Pakistan. In order to solve this mystery, WWF-Pakistan will install satellite tags on these turtles in October 2018 that will help determine their migration and nesting grounds. The other three species i.e. loggerhead, hawksbill and leatherback turtles are of rare occurrence along Pakistan’s coast, however, WWF-Pakistan has some evidence of their occurrence and distribution along the coast.

Moreover, it is also noticed that freshwater turtles and their marine cousins are confronting serious threats. Illegal poaching, habitat degradation, water abstraction, fragmentation of rivers and canals and fishing operations are threatening freshwater turtles in Pakistan. Export of freshwater turtle meat, which is banned, is considered the main threat to these vulnerable species and there is a need for their immediate protection.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Muhammad Moazzam Khan, Technical Advisor, WWF-Pakistan said that turtle enmeshment is an important issue because of ever-increasing gillnet fleets and ghost fishing gears. Pakistan is among those countries which was complying with United States requirement of having turtle excluder devices (TED) since 1999. However, because of non-compliance, US authorities have imposed a ban on the export of shrimp from Pakistan to the USA since May 2017. Provincial and federal fisheries departments are working closely with fishermen to ensure compliance to TED Regulations so as to ensure restoration of export from Pakistan.

Khan further informed that in order to reduce entanglement of marine turtles in gillnet fishing gears, WWF-Pakistan has convinced local gillnet fishermen to shift from surface to subsurface gillnetting which has reduced turtle entanglements in gillnet by 95 percent because most turtle species inhabit surface waters. When nets are placed in the subsurface waters, turtles can easily swim over it. In addition, WWF-Pakistan has trained 300 fishermen to safely release entangled marine turtles and almost all turtles were safely released.

Dr. Babar Khan, Wildlife Department director, stressed the need to create awareness among the general public, especially youth, about the important national asset in the form of diversified land tortoises, freshwater and marine turtles which abound our fresh and marine waters but are facing serious threat of extinction mainly because of human activities as well as climate change. He stressed the need for effective monitoring of the country’s border posts to ensure that illegal trade of these species is controlled.

Published in Daily Times, May 23^rd 2018.