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LEGAL STATUS
Green Sea Turtles enjoy a protected status in Pakistan,
either
directly or indirectly through the following legal
and regulatory
provisions.
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According
to the second schedule of the Sindh Wildlife Protection
Ordinance 1972, all marine turtles in the Sindh province enjoy
the
status of a Protected Animal. |
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The clause
5 (export restriction) in the Pakistan Fish Inspection
and Quality Act 1997, of the Federal Ministry of Food,
Agriculture
and Livestock, Government of Pakistan, forbids the export and
domestic consumption of Aquatic Turtles. |
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Pakistan is
a signatory to the Conservation on International
Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). |
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The
Government of Pakistan acknowledges the IUCN Red List
of
Threatened Species which lists the green turtle. |
Sea Turtle Nesting Sites
in Pakistan
The coast west of Karachi Harbour entrance upto Buleji/Paradise
Point
consists of sandy beaches, Manora, Sandspit and Hawksbay beaches,
which are separated from each other by rocky protruding points.
The Hawksbay/Sandspit beaches lie about 15km southwest of Karachi
City.
They are flanked to the northwest by the Arabian Sea and to the
southwest by a dense mangrove forest cover in the coastal
backwaters.
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Satellite Image Sandspit/Hawsbay |
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Pakistan's Coast Zone |
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Virtually all the marine turtle nesting sites in Sindh occur on
the Hawskbay - Sandspit beaches, concentrated along one 5km
stretch but extending in some degree along the entire beach strip
of around 20km, some nesting also occurs on parts of the remaining
coast extending westward to the Balcuchistan border near Cape
Monze.
Though Hawkesbay -
Sandspit beaches represent the largest nesting habitat for marine
turtles in Pakistan, having importance both in regional and global
terms, there have been some indications that the remaining
coastline of Pakistan, in Balcuchistan province, may hold
significant numbers of marine turtles. |
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The Bay of Karachi |
Marine Turtles have been found to nest in the vicinity of each of
the four main fishing towns - Jiwani, Gwadar, Pasni, Ormara -
along the Makran coast of Balcuchistan, Pakistan. All the variable
evidence, comprising nest pits, stacks and skeletal material,
suggest that the green turtle is the main species involved,
possibly the only species. Other species may nest at other times
of the year or at other locations. |
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