KARACHI: The Balochistan fishermen on Monday morning spotted a giant blue whale about two kilometers off the Gaddani coast, WWF-Pakistsn said.
It was the second appearance of the mammoth blue whale within two days, as first the fishermen saw it on Sunday in the same waters around 4:40 pm but could not record it on camera.
The video shows the huge blue whale swimming on the sea waters in Gaddani.
"The same whale was seen along the Gaddani coast at around 4:40 pm on Sunday, but could not be recorded on camera," the local fishermen said.
WWF-Pakistan said that it was the second time when a blue what was spotted in the country's waters, appreciating the fishermen for their efforts for the recording and sharing the video.
"Blue whale is the second most common whale exists in the country's waters after the Arabian Sea humpback whale," Technical Advisor, WWF-Pakistan, Muhammad Moazzam Khan said
There is a sizable population of blue whales in the Arabian Sea as local fishermen have been reporting several sightings of the animal for the last 15 years, he said.
In September 2017, a gigantic mother blue whale with her calf was seen off the Churna Island near Karachi coast, he said that and hoped that this blue whale will manoeuvre and find its way into the deep Arabian Sea.
"WWF-Pakistan through its Observer Programme is building the capacity of local fishers to safely release the entangled whales, dolphins, turtles and other threatened marine species from fishing nets, film the sighting of endangered species and make efforts for the protection," he said.
The area from where blue whale is recorded is a part of the Churna-Kaio Island Complex Area of Interest and is adjacent to the North East Arabian Sea Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA) declared by the Marine Mammal Protected Area Task Force (IUCN), he pointed out.
He maintained that the Gaddani area has many physical barriers such as ship-breaking activities, Single Point Mooring (SPM), other reception facilities of the Coal Power plant, and the presence of some construction-related barges and tugs.
Ghazi Sallahuddin, Regional Head, Sindh, and Balochistan, WWF-Pakistan, was of the view that whales face several challenges along their habitat range.
The major threats to whales in Pakistani waters include entanglement in the fishing nets, ship strikes, water pollution, and climate change.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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