ISLAMABAD, Nov 26 (APP): Balochistan Wildlife Department in collaboration with the Daran Conservation Society has released over 100 cage-hatched Green Turtles as part of preservation initiative under the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Plantation (TBTTP) project to protect the endangered species.
Project Director TBTTP (wildlife component) Balochistan Niaz Kakar told APP that the Wildlife Department along with the conservation society and local fishermen was spearheading the preservation effort in the remotest areas of the country which was an uphill task.
Kakar said the breeding season for turtles prevailed during the months of October, March, and April. “A Green Turtle on average lays around 50-150 eggs in a season and hides it under the beach sand in its delicate nest at night”, he added.
He informed that during the Financial Year 2019-20 some 32,000 Green Turtles were released into the ocean, around 49,000 released in 2020-21, whereas a target of 100,000 Green Turtles was set for 2021-22.
“We release these baby turtles newly hatched at night so that scavengers and big birds of prey cannot hunt them,” Niaz told.
Wildlife Department was managing the conservation with the help of local fishermen who were paid approximately Rs17,000 remuneration for a month.
He added that the present initiatives were going on in Jiwani coastal areas whereas Pasni and Ormara would be included during this financial year. “It takes 60 days for a baby turtle to hatch out of its egg,” he said.
When contacted Senior Technical Adviser to World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF-Pakistan) Moazzam Khan told that Daran Conservation Society was working with Balochistan Wildlife and Forest department since 2006, where WWF was also part of the preservation effort.
Khan said the Society activists had placed cages along the shore where the eggs were placed in the nest and after successful breeding the hatchling was released into the ocean.
He underlined that these baby turtles faced existential threat due to predators as foxes, Kites, dogs, jackals and others wild animals used to dig out turtle eggs and eat them.
He said there was need to acknowledge this effort by the Society as it was undergoing in the remotest areas.
He warned that the shifting of eggs and hatchlings without temperature control would lead to excessive female birth. “The temperature if not managed then it will disturb the population and number of turtles due to less males after boom in female ratio,” Khan said.
To a query, he said, “Green Turtles used to eat seaweed and grass whereas due to its less availability on our beaches it migrates to Persian, Indian and Somali beaches.”
He added that climate change was going to have effects on Green Turtles population was temperature rise would finish its number system balance. Khan informed that Green Turtles were mostly found at Hawkesbay Beach Karachi whereas Estola Island was also one of the places with the highest population of Turtles.
Earlier, SAPM on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam in his tweet expressed his felicitation over the conservation effort underway for Green Turtles.
“A joy to watch this – Over 100 cage hatched baby Green Turtles released this morning at #Jiwani turtle beach by @BalochistanFor1 under #10BillionTreeTsunami wildlife component”.