CHARNA Island is located near Mubarak Village, Karachi. It is a small uninhabited island locally known as Cheerno. The marine life around Charna includes poisonous sea snakes, barracuda, narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, cobia, dorado, tuna, angel fish, sea urchin, sea fan, oyster, ray fish, rare green turtle, shark, whale, dolphin, crabs and lobsters.

It is a good place for fishing. Anglers from Karachi take fishing boats from Mubarak village for fishing. It is famous for water sports such as for scuba diving, underwater photography, hiking, speed boating, wake tubing, banana tubing, jet skiing, cliff diving and snorkeling. There are coral reefs around this island, with more than 60 types of corals. The environment is peaceful and clean.

Unfortunately, a coal-fired power project is coming up in Hub, Balochistan, on which work is on in full swing. The coal-fired power project will construct a jetty on or near Charna Island, which will hurt the marine life and disturb the traditional fishing and water sport activities.

It is feared that when this project is operational, it will destroy marine life. Environmental organisations should take action to preserve the marine life of the area. Anglers and water sports lovers should also play their roles in this respect.

The residents of Mubarak village urge the government to declare Charna Islands a marine protected area.

Sarfraz Haroon
Mubarak Village,
Karachi

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2017