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A rare loggerhead turtle has showed up its existence in the country's seawaters some 166 kilometres south-west of Karachi this midweek, WWF-Pakistan said on Friday. The loggerhead turtle that weighted about 30 kilograms became evident for the first time with an authentic record. A fisherman, Hasnat Khan, whose boat's net had trapped the turtle accidentally, disentangled the rare marine species and released it back into waters unhurt on last Tuesday.
The unusual marks and spots on the turtle's back cautioned the fisherman after catching it, who thought of its presence as a rare appearance in his lifetime fishing in the country's waters. "Hasnat Khan is among the 40 skippers and fishermen that have been trained by WWF-Pakistan to release non-target species including marine turtles," WWF-Pakistan said.
"The loggerhead turtle, scientifically known as Caretta caretta, has a cosmopolitan distribution, nesting over the broadest geographical range of any sea turtle. It inhabits the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans and the Mediterranean Sea," Technical Adviser (Marine Fisheries), WWF-Pakistan, Muhammad Moazzam Khan, said.
In the Indian Ocean, a large population existed in Oman, which hosted around 15,000 nests, which stood the second largest population of loggerheads in the world, he said, adding that "in 2010, it was reported that a loggerhead was caught in Pakistan waters but later investigations indicated that it was actually an olive ridley turtle".
He said that the coastal communities in Pakistan had become more aware of the importance of marine turtles following implementation of scores of conservation projects to protect such species. According to WWF-Pakistan, the present record of the loggerhead turtle is a new addition to the biodiversity of the country.
The country inhabits four species of marine turtles, including a commonly occurring green turtle, that nests on different sandy beaches along the coast in Sandspit, Hawksbay, Paradise Point, Taq (Ormara), Astola Island, Gwadar and Daran (Jiwani), the WWF-Pakistan said.
The olive ridley turtle, which would nest across Pakistan's beaches, had been out of traces for more than a decade. The studies of WWF-Pakistan reveal the existence of a very large population of olive ridley turtles offshore Pakistan despite an absence of nests from the coasts. "A few live specimens of the leatherback and hawksbill turtles have been reported by WWF-Pakistan from the coast of Balochistan during the last three years," it said.
The WWF-Pakistan said that it had carried out programmes to train fishermen to help ensure a safe release of megafauna back into seawaters, which was very popular among the seafarers. "Since the start of this programme in March 2013, 17 whale sharks, three manta rays, two dolphins, one toothed whale, three sunfish and about 30,000 marine turtles have been released safely," he pointed out.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2015

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