The green sea turtle, the only herbivore among the various turtle species, visits Karachi’s beaches each year to lay eggs at Hawke’s Bay, Paradise Point, and Sandspit.
Up to 16,500 hatchlings have been released into the Arabian Sea as a result of the breeding season of the green sea turtles that lay their eggs along Karachi’s coastline having ended, according to wildlife officials.
The green sea turtle, the only herbivore among the various turtle species, visits Karachi’s beaches each year to lay eggs at Hawke’s Bay, Paradise Point, and Sandspit.
Ashfaq Memon, head of the Marine Turtles Conservation Unit at the Sindh Wildlife Department, told media, “We had set a target of hatching 30,000 eggs in the chamber, while 150 female turtles were tagged for breeding.”
He added that “the hatchlings are then released into the sea by our guards,” adding that “one green turtle lays 100 to 120 eggs at a time, while the hatching period is between 40 and 60 days.”
Since 1975, approximately 900,000 baby turtles have been released into the sea, according to statistics from the Sindh Wildlife Department.”The Department’s efforts to protect the green sea turtles have paid off, as more turtles are now congregating to lay eggs at more coastal sites in Sindh,” Memon said.
Seven different species of sea turtles were reportedly present in the coastal regions of Sindh and Balochistan twenty years ago, according to experts.
However, as a result of marine pollution and commercial and recreational activities along the coasts, these numbers have now been reduced to just two.
Unbelievably, the olive ridley sea turtle is also extinct among the two remaining species. Since 2010, no living olive ridley turtles have been seen on Karachi’s beaches.
Environmentalists, zoologists, and marine biologists are perplexed as to why the olive ridley turtles have stopped visiting Sandspit Beach.
They concur that a number of factors, including beach pollution, rising boating, overfishing, widespread use of harmful nets, stray dogs, and an abundance of eagles and crows, may have contributed to the extinction of this species from Karachi’s coasts.
A sensitive species of turtle, the olive ridley is quick to spot any danger. According to experts, a significant portion of the trash on Sandspit Beach is made up of plastic bags, which are a major barrier to female turtle reproduction. This has the potential to endanger the existence of the green sea turtle population if it is not stopped.