Source of oil spill needs to be determined: WWF

EPA restricts access to Churna Island

QUETTA/ KARACHI: The regional director for World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-Pakistan) Dr Babar Khan on Friday stressed the need for joint efforts to determine the source of the oil spill which occurred along Karachi's coastal belt, spreading from Mubarak village to Manora, and initiate a clean-up operation.

The environmental organisation's team visited the affected areas to assess damage to the coastal habitat and marine biota. They reported dead animals smeared with oil in Mubbarak village and Sandspit. The team collected dead crustaceans and fishes along the Hawksbay beach. A dead green turtle was also found on Sandspit Beach.

Oil spill at Mubarrak Village. PHOTO:Asif Sandeelo/EXPRESS

Local fishermen reported an oil slick near Churna Island on Wednesday which had beached on Mubarak village by Thursday morning and Sandspit beach by afternoon. The oil seems to have weathered and turned into semi-solid tar indicating that it might have released a few days back, said WWF.



Babar Khan said samples of the oil found at Mubbarak village and Sandspit have been collected and will be analysed for fingerprinting.

Oil fingerprinting is done through Gas Chromatograph (GC–MS) and Spectroscopic (fluorescence, FT-IR) and ultra-high resolution mass spectrometry methods (FT-ICRMS), which will help trace the source of oil pollution.

Oil spill at Mubarrak village. PHOTO:Asif Sandeelo/EXPRESS

WWF-Pakistan's technical advisor for marine fisheries, Muhammad Moazzam Khan, says the oil spill is likely to have a serious impact on the marine ecosystem as it has smeared entire rocky beaches covering intertidal rocky platforms and rock pools.

According to Moazzam Khan, Churna Island is one of the most sensitive habitats along Pakistan’s coast; home to a diverse marine life and among the few areas where coral is found. It is also a significant diving and snorkelling site along the coast of Pakistan.

He said cleaning up an oil spill is extremely difficult.

Oil spill at Mubarrak village. PHOTO:Asif Sandeelo/EXPRESS

Oil spills disrupt marine life and have an impact the ecosystem years after a spill occurs. Initially, after the spill, oil covers everything from beach sand to rocks at the bottom of the sea, killing most of the marine life. Sea birds, which cannot relocate, get oil on their feathers and cannot maintain their body temperature. Dolphins and whales also cannot breathe in an oil spill as the oil clogs their blowholes. An oil spill has the worst toll on fish, particularly if the oil comes in contact with fish eggs.



Restrictions on Churna Island tours

The director general of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has ordered a temporary ban on tour groups operating out of Churna Island without permission from the Balochistan Environment Agency (BEA).

Groups must obtain NOCs from the BEA and submit an environmental management plan in the interest of keeping Churna Island free from waste and safeguarding the environment. Regional environmental protection agency office at Hub will facilitate the registration process.

The Tasman Spirit oil spill near Karachi in 2003 is considered as one of the worst environmental disasters in the environmental history of Pakistan wherein, over 33,000 tons of oil spilt into the Arabian Sea and 16km of the coastline was polluted.