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KARACHI: Speakers on Monday said since the start of WWF-Pakistan's observer programme in 2012, a total of 110 whale sharks have been safely released by trained fishermen. This was mainly achieved through capacity building and awareness initiative and is a big success in conservation of marine species.

On the occasion of the 'World Whale Shark Day' observed digitally, they said the whale shark fishing is effectively under control as no case of whale shark mortality has been reported by fishers in 2019 or 2020.

The event was attended by more than 100 students from University of Karachi, Lasbela University and members of the WWF Network. The whale shark is classified as endangered according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, whereas it is included in Appendix-II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and is proposed to be included in Appendix-I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). It is also covered under other international instruments including the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) of which Pakistan is a member.

Speaking during the online session, Muhammad Moazzam Khan, Technical Advisor Fisheries, WWF-Pakistan said a healthy population of whale sharks is reported from Pakistani waters. However, it faces multiple threats such as frequent entanglement in fishing gears (particularly gillnets), habitat degradation and marine pollution. He stated that these species are commonly found all along the coast of Pakistan, however, the area between Ras Malan and Churna Island and the offshore Indus Delta (between Khajar and off Ghora Bari) is their hotspot. He also said that Churna Island, which is being considered as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) by the government of Balochistan, is an important basking, feeding and breeding area for this species.

Two neonate whale sharks were reported from Balochistan coast in 2008, confirming the breeding of whale sharks in the area. He stressed that the government must devise a policy to reduce gillnet fisheries in Pakistan. ‘Many countries, including Sri Lanka, have converted a large number of gillnets boats to longlining, which is considered comparatively safer gear against threatened species, he added.

Commenting on the day, Dr Andy Cornish, Leader of WWF's Global Shark and Ray Conservation programme, said whale sharks are gentle giants, and amongst the best known of all the 500 plus species of sharks, with their massive size, huge mouths and distinctive white spots. Despite being protected in many countries and under regional and global conventions, their populations continue to decline.

Whale sharks are ocean nomads, wandering huge distances across ocean basins in search of food and mates, which threaten their survival when they inadvertently cross busy shipping lanes, or blunder into fishing nets, which can entangle and kill them. He also said that WWF is determined to reduce the threats to whale sharks through research to improve our knowledge on their movements, reduce deaths from entanglement, and to protect the areas where they gather together.

The collaboration between fisherman and WWF in Pakistan to safely release whale sharks unintentionally caught in gillnets have saved countless whale sharks, and a fantastic example for other countries to follow.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020

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