KARACHI, Dec 13: Hundreds of dolphins have been spotted in deep sea waters off the city shore by an international team which has begun its new season for surveying whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

According to a press release issued by the World Wide Fund for Nature Pakistan on Wednesday, the Cetacean Conservation Pakistan team led by Dr Mauvis Gore of the University of Marine Biological Station in Scotland, and other team members of WWF-Pakistan in their latest survey on the continental shelf 120km offshore on 2,000 meter deep waters, saw hundreds of spinner dolphins both alone and in groups or “pods”.

These dolphins are famous for their aerial display as they leap out of water and spin before diving back in.

In the scientific survey close to the shore, the CCP team also saw a porpoise and two other dolphin species. This work is the first of its kind in Pakistan. The CCP team is working on the conservation of Pakistan’s marine porpoises or “cetaceans” that have washed up on the shore, besides working with the fishing communities and raising awareness about marine cetaceans.

Dr Gore, leader of the CCP project funded by Darwin Initiative, said: “It was really exciting to see these key dolphin species in their feeding areas and this provides new information on cetaceans for Pakistan.”

The project is being run in collaboration with WWF-Pakistan, University Marine Biological Station Millport (Scotland), Centre of Excellence in Marin Biology of Karachi University, the British Council, Karachi and Pakistan Wetland Programme.