Expert warn use of illegal fishing nets depleting marine turtle population

Karachi
The use of illegal fishing nets by Pakistani fishermen is one of the leading causes of depletion of the population of marine turtles.
The country’s continental shelf was home to four of the total seven reported species of marine turtles.
This was expressed by experts speaking at a two-day regional symposium on the subject organised by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) under its Saving the Endangered Sea Turtles project.
The event, held with the collaboration of USAID’s small grants and ambassador funds programme, was attended by marine conservation experts from Bangladesh, Germany, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and UAE, besides representatives of government departments, academia and private organisations.
The speakers explained that marine turtles were one of the oldest surviving reptiles on the planet. Globally, there were seven species of marine turtles of which six are found in the Indian Ocean, more specifically the South-East Asian region. Four of these species have been observed in the coastal areas of Pakistan.
They said the populations of six species of marine turtles in the South-Asia region were categorised by the IUCN as vulnerable, endangered or critically-endangered and were part of its Red List of Threatened Species.
The federal secretary for climate change, Arif Ahmed Khan, who was the chief guest on the occasion, highlighted the importance of “respecting other species on earth” and described how the survival of threatened and seemingly insignificant species was essential for the overall health of the planet.
He underscored the role of the ministry of climate change, which under its mandate, should bring experts together to discuss and deliberate on environmental issues. He said the private sector, being a potential partner and also the beneficiary, needed to come forward and take steps to ensure that international obligations were met by local fishermen so that the export of seafood remained uninterrupted and marine life wasn’t threatened.
“Turtles are an integral component of a coastal ecosystem and related livelihoods,” said Aban Marker Kabraji, the regional director of IUCN-Asia. “The turtle conservation programme is the only project which has been run by the Sindh government without a break for a number of years. The IUCN has been providing the provincial government strategic plans for helping to create awareness about the importance of conserving sea turtles.”
She said conservation and development can go together and cited the example of Dhamra Port in India, where the IUCN helped the TATA Group to join hands with turtle conservationists in coming up with a strategy to protect sea turtles when the port was being built.
“But in the case of Pakistan, highest turtle mortalities are being witnessed due to the use of fishing nets,” said Kabraji. “While moving through the fishing areas, a large number of turtles get trapped in the illegal nets and die. The high mortalities are causing depletion of marine turtle population across the world.”
Her stance was corroborated by Dr Nicolas Pilcher, the co-chair of IUCN’s turtle specialist group, who cited the findings of a recent baseline study conducted along the Pakistani coast.
Terming the situation “grim”, he said a least 1,000 turtles were caught in fishing nets in 2014 and called for stringent measures for the protection of turtle population.
He gave the example of Malaysia, where he said, “turtle-excluder devices” had proven to be highly successful for fishermen, who were consulted and informed about the use of such devices to improve the quality of their catch, reduce fuel cost and leave trash fish.
However, in Pakistan, said Dr Pilcher, there was a need to create awareness and better understanding regarding the use of “turtle-excluder devices”.
Country representative of IUCN, Mahmood Akhtar Cheema, said that the broader objective of the Saving the Endangered Sea Turtles project was to reduce the direct and indirect causes of marine turtle mortality in Pakistan, and to protect, conserve and rehabilitate their habitats.
Ghulam Qadir Shah, manager of the Saving the Endangered Sea Turtles project, briefed the participants about its objectives and achievements and explained how it contributed to the overall conservation plans by creating awareness and building capacity of local communities.
Clara Nobbe, coordinator of the IOSEA Marine Turtle Memorandum of Understanding highlighted the objectives of her organisation that was mandated to manage marine species in the Indian Ocean and adjacent seas.
She said that the primary objective of inter-country MoU was to ensure conservation and optimum utilisation of fish stocks.