KARACHI: A large rhomboid squid, a rare species, recently caught by fishermen in the waters of Balochistan, was safely released back into the sea.

“I could sell this species for up to Rs500 but decided to release it because I knew it is rarely found and I wanted it to survive,” said Hidayatullah, who caught the squid with his fellow fishermen 160-kilometre south of Malan, eastern part of Gwadar district.

Hidayatullah is one of the 50 fishermen trained in marine life conservation by the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P).

About the species, technical adviser on marine fisheries Mohammad Moazzam Khan, representing the WWF-P, said squids caught by set nets and drifting jigs in various parts of the world had a commercial value.

“This squid (Thysanoteuthis rhombus) has a rare presence in our waters. Hence, it’s not commercially exploited. Only a few specimens of this species are previously recorded in Pakistan, the first case was reported in 1995,” he said. The species had tropical and subtropical distribution, he added.

This species can grow to a metre length (most squids found in Pakistan are usually 20 to 25 centimetres long) and attain a weight of about 30kg. This species is found in surface (epipelagic) and subsurface (mesopelagic) waters to a depth of about 1,500m. It is also known to undergo vertical migrations.

“Catching it alive is important since its previous records are based on accidently caught species landing dead at the harbour. It’s a predator of oceanic waters and feeds on other fishes and invertebrates (squids, oceanic crabs) while it is eaten by fishes such as tuna, swordfish, marlins, sharks, whales and dolphins,” he said while highlighting its ecological significance.

Senior director (biodiversity) WWF-P Rab Nawaz appreciated the fishermen for releasing a non-target species and said such efforts would contribute substantially to marine conservation.

“Training provided to fishermen engaged in tuna gillnet fishing is now bringing positive results. Fishermen have so far released a large number of by-catch species,” he said.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2016