KARACHI: A 60 inches long leatherback turtle that accidentally got entangled in fishing net in Gwadar was successfully released back into the deep sea on Wednesday.

It’s the second time in 10 months that leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) that are rarely found along Pakistan’s coast has been caught and released.

“When the turtle was caught in our net, we swiftly recognised that it was the same rare species fishermen had been told about during sessions on turtle awareness,” said Lal Bakhsh, one of the crew members of the fishing boat that caught the turtle.

Fishermen, he said, now realised the significance of turtles that kept marine habitat clean. ‘That’s why we decided to sacrifice our gillnet and rescue the turtle,” he added.

According to World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan official Abdur Rahim, whose organisation is creating awareness among fishermen about how to release non-targeted marine species back into the sea, the turtle was brought to the Gwadar Fish Harbour where the staff measured the species and later released it into the deep waters.

Technical Adviser WWF-Pakistan Mohammad Moazzam Khan said leatherback turtles have been reported only on five occasions in recent history; twice they were reported from Karachi about 25 years ago and once from Gwadar (West Bay) a decade ago. But, all three were dead specimens.

“Last year in April, a giant leatherback turtle entrapped in fishing net was brought to the beach and was released into the sea. The organisation is motivating and training fishermen not to harm the wildlife such as turtles, whale sharks, mantas, sunfish and cetaceans (whales and dolphins) that is of no economic interest for them,” he said.

Five species of marine turtles (Green turtle, olive-Ridley turtle, hawksbill turtle, loggerhead turtle and leatherback turtle) have been reported from Pakistan. Except green turtles, other species have rare occurrence in Pakistan.

According to Director WWF-Pakistan, Rab Nawaz, there has been a significant increase in the number of leatherback turtles along Pakistan’s coast that might be due to increase in the population of jellyfish.

“Leatherback turtles largely feed on jellyfish. We couldn’t identify the reasons for the increase in jellyfish population and there is a need for research,” he said.

The leatherback turtle is the largest marine turtle, in fact the largest reptile. It is widely distributed in the Indian and Pacific oceans, including North Sea. In the Arabian Sea, it is found in India, Oman, the UAE and Yemen, but it is the rarest of all species of turtles in the area. The leatherback turtle can grow up to 900kg and has a teardrop shaped body. It is said that they have survived more than a hundred million years, but now face extinction.

Published in Dawn January 8th , 2014

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