KARACHI: World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Technical Adviser Moazzam Khan said that the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and its adjoining areas are like a “dead zone” for marine life due to pollution.
His comment points towards the severity of pollution in Karachi’s port areas located near the sea, as at least 10 crucial marine creatures have now become extinct.
Speaking with Geo News on the occasion of World Oceans Day, the WWF official said that the port city’s sea is losing marine life due to activities led by humans which includes the release of at least 500 million gallons sewage into the sea every day.
Khan maintained that the dirty water from the Lyari and Malir rivers as well as other small and big streams goes into the sea, which leads towards polluting about 10 kilometres of the area outside the Karachi port.
The official added that the areas around Gulbai and Machar Colony are also highly polluted for marine life. He added that there is no marine life around these areas due to pollution.
Khan added that before 1947, oysters were shipped from the Karachi port area to the viceroy in New Delhi.
Lampshell is a living fossil that has now gone extinct from Baba Island, Bhit Shah and KPT, he said, adding that the aquatic creature has survived in the ocean for 500 million years, defying all conditions.
However, it could not withstand the marine pollution of Karachi and is now locally extinct. Lampshell was last seen near KPT 37 years ago, said Khan.
Meanwhile, Arabian Pupfish — a small-sized fish — has also gone extinct in Karachi’s port area. It was the first means of training the children of fishermen for hunting, the WWF official told Geo News.
The Caulerpa seaweed is also now extinct from the Manora beach in the city, Khan said, adding that it was was used in clothing, cosmetics and more than 40 other products,
He also lamented the disappearance of the marine sponge in Shams Pir, an island in Karachi.
“Until 1975, humpback dolphins were seen at Karachi’s port areas, but they no longer enter the city due to pollution in the sea,” said Khan.
