KARACHI: A group of Bryde’s whales — one of the three baleen whales reported from Pakistan’s waters — were spotted off the coast of Gwadar by fishermen on Thursday morning, the World Wide for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) reported on Friday.

“A fishing boat captained by Amir Dad Karim was operating in the Gwadar (Demi Zur) for gillnetting of sardines. They noticed movement on the surface of the calm sea about five kilometres north of their area of operation, and they decided to investigate, which turned out to be a pod of baleen whale,” says a statement released by the nature conservation organisation.

One of the fishermen, using his mobile phone, made a short video, and sent it immediately to WWF-Pakistan. “Upon close examination, it turned out to be a pod of Bryde’s whale consisting of four individuals. The video indicates that these whales are travelling towards the coastal waters, possibly for feeding,” it added.

Bryde’s whale is one of the three baleen whales reported from Pakistan’s waters. The other two are the Blue whale and the Arabian humpback whale.

“Bryde’s whales are found in warm, temperate oceans, including the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific. Bryde’s whales predominantly feed on schooling fish [including sardines, anchovies, and mackerels], which are abundantly found along the coast of Pakistan,” said Muhammad WWF-P Technical Adviser Moazzam Khan.

These whales, he pointed out, had also been documented to prey on crustaceans like pelagic sergestid shrimp, which are also known to occur in coastal and offshore waters of Pakistan.

“Bryde’s whales are typically seen alone or in groups of no more than three or four, although larger aggregations of up to 20 can be observed in prime feeding areas. There are many records of the occurrence of Bryde’s whale from Pakistan between 2013 and 2023,” he added.

According to the IUCN Red List, Bryde’s whale is considered “data deficient” as limited information about its global population is known. Like all other cetaceans, Bryde’s whales are protected species under provincial wildlife laws as well as under provisions of fisheries and international trade laws in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2025