KARACHI: The globally endangered mantas - fish species, which are a relative of the shark and sting ray - showed up southwest off Karachi coast in the Arabian Sea the other day.
This species, which the IUCN has placed on it’s red list of endangered marine animals, would surface frequently in Pakistani sea waters but has become extremely rare now, WWF-Pakistan said on Sunday.
Last time giant manta was seen at north of Churna Island in October 2016, also scientifically called “mobula birostris”.
Two giant mantas were swimming along a vessel, which captain Samad Bilwani filmed. Member Board of Directors, WWF-Pakistan, Zahid Maker shared the exciting video.
These two giant mantas were spotted in sea waters some 50 nautical miles south of Karachi. It is not common to see two giant manta rays swimming together.
Despite being relatives of sharks, giant mantas are harmless animals that feed on small shrimps, which are known to abound in Pakistani seas.
“It is amazing that these gentle giants encircled the boats, coming to the surface and swimming along the boat, presenting an amazing sight to behold,” according to Zahid Maker.
In many countries like Maldives, Thailand, Costa Rica, Fiji and Mozambique, recreational dives are arranged to allow swimming with giant mantas, he said.
Although not directly targeted by fishing activities in Pakistan, a large number of the giant mantas are trapped in gillnet. However, their numbers scaled down over the past 20 years.
Before 1947, giant manta rays and whale sharks were a target of recreational fishing in the offshore waters of Cape Monz and Churna Island.
Muhammad Moazzam Khan, Technical Advisor, WWF-Pakistan said that “seven species of devil rays are found in Pakistan”.
They are: Reef manta ray (mobula alfredi), giant manta ray (mobula birostris), long horned (mobula eregoodoo), Kuhls devil ray (mobula kuhlii), giant devil ray (mobula mobular), Chilian devil ray (mobula tarapacana) and bentfin devil ray (mobula thurstoni).
The reef manta ray is the rarest and was last seen in Pakistan in 1964 when it was caught off Pasni, Balochistan, he said, whereas devil ray would occur commonly in the country’s seas, which was caught on a commercial scale, he said.
He said that there is a need of declaring Churna Island as a marine protected area, as an area known to be the last abode of giant manta and other megafauna (whale shark, sunfish, whales and dolphins).
Although there are no aimed fisheries for these gentle giants, they were frequently caught by gillneters operating in the coastal and offshore waters of Pakistan, he said.
“Species of mobula and manta rays are facing serious threat of extinction because they reach sexual maturity relatively late in life, giving birth to a single offspring every few years,” Moazzam Khan said.
These species are not keen to look after or defend their young and the offspring are vulnerable when they are small and may not survive, he pointed out.
“Mantas and mobulas are an important part of the marine ecosystem of Pakistan,” Senior Director Conservation Biodiversity, WWF-Pakistan, Rab Nawaz said.
In 2012, he said, for the first time, WWF-Pakistan initiated a detailed research and conservation work of these important marine animals and collected information about the distribution, abundance and biology of these species.
Taking these studies into consideration, and fears of their disappearance from Pakistan, he said: “WWF-Pakistan persuaded provincial fisheries departments to declare them species which are not allowed to be fished and marketed in Pakistan.”
Through these efforts, he said, the Sindh and Balochistan governments have notified laws for the protection of mobula and manta rays, prohibiting their catch, landing and sales in the country.
Mainly because of fishing pressure, the population of manta rays is decreasing at an alarming rate in Pakistan, he said.
“Their population is also seriously affected by habitat degradation and pollution and there is a need to create awareness amongst fishermen, as well as the general public, about the protection of these species as they are important national assets and a part of marine diversity in Pakistan,” Rab Nawaz said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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