Karachi
A WWF-trained Pakistani fisherman saved a rare, endangered Olive Ridley Turtle that had become entangled in a plastic bag some 180 nautical miles off the Karachi coast, proving that awareness among fisherfolk was imperative in times when dumping of plastic products in terrestrial and marine environments had become a serious threat in Pakistan’s coastal and offshore waters.
“From a distance, it just seemed to be a plastic bag tossing up on the waves. But we decided to check it out and, to our utter surprise, found the trapped turtle. I tried to release it there and then, but had to get it onboard to carefully cut it free of the plastic,” said Amir Rahim, captain of the fishing boat.
In a statement, WWF-Pakistan said solid garbage from cities and towns along the coastline makes its way to the ocean, and an estimated 14 billion pounds of trash, much of it plastic is dumped in the world’s oceans every year. Plastic bags, bottles, toys, packaging material, if not disposed of correctly, can reach the sea.
Plastic waste, the statement read, decomposes very slowly and, therefore, remains either floating in the open sea or piled up on the beaches. Fishermen also contribute in this pollution by dumping an estimated 150,000 tons of plastic into the ocean each year, including packaging, plastic nets, lines, and buoys. As per another estimate about 8,000 tons of solid waste mainly consisting of plastic is unaccounted for in Karachi; most of it ending up in the sea around Karachi.
According to Rahim, he had come across many turtles entangled in floating fishing nets, but this was the first time he saw a marine turtle entrapped in a floating bag. He urged all his fellow fishermen and other seafarers not to throw plastic bags and other similar material overboard as these could prove fatal for marine animals.
Muhammad Moazzam Khan, Technical Advisor (Marine Fisheries), WWF-Pakistan, said plastic pollution was becoming a serious threat to marine life, stating that even remote beaches along Pakistan’s coast, including Kund Malir, were falling prey to this unfortunate phenomenon. Commercial boats and merchant ships plying in Pakistan waters also contribute to pollution, and high concentrations of plastic material, particularly plastic bags, have been found blocking the breathing passages and stomachs of many marine species, including whales, dolphins, seals, puffins, and turtles.