'Corals in Astola Island bristling with marine life'

To assess the environmental conditions of Astola Island, a team of PADI certified Indus scuba divers undertook a four-day expedition from December 3 to 6, 2020 to the area. The divers found amazing wildlife and revealed that a very healthy and productive marine ecosystem exists around the island.

It was feared that because of the abundant corals found in the area, and the recent reporting of coral bleaching near Churna Island, Astola Island may also be at risk. However, the divers confirmed that no coral bleaching was found on Astola Island, a marine protected area (MPA).

However, the World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan (WWF) called for the development of a management plan for the island as a marine protected area (MPA) to ensure protection of coral, marine and terrestrial life around the island. The organisation also called on the government to declare Churna Island the country’s second MPA in order to conserve its habitat.

The divers undertook surveys at important diving sites along Astola Island. Coral and associated habitats were observed to be teeming with marine life including important fish, such as barracuda, trevallies, hot-lips as well lobsters, fan-worm, sea urchins and soft corals.

The team also dived to a ship wreck located about four kilometres off Astola Island, which was also observed to have rich marine life.

The scuba team lead also observed a number of green turtles nesting and laying eggs on the island’s beaches and observed juvenile turtles hatching and returning to the sea.

Watch this video here, courtesy WWF-Pakistan:

WWF-Pakistan appreciated the efforts of the Indus scuba team in reporting this positive news about the healthy ecosystem of Astola Island.

Commenting on the report, Muhammad Moazzam Khan, Technical Advisor (Marine Fisheries) WWF-Pakistan said that Astola Island is the first marine protected area of the country. He informed that it is known to be rich in marine biodiversity and have a healthy ecosystem. It was once the largest nesting ground of the great crested tern (Thalasseus bergii) globally.

However, due to the introduction of feral cats and rats, nesting colonies have dwindled in the past few decades.

Astola Island is also an important nesting area of the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and is considered an important fishing ground for fishermen of Pasni and other coastal areas in Balochistan.

He further added that the report of no coral bleaching near Astola Island was a sigh of relief as the widespread phenomenon may seriously affect coral and associated marine life.

"In contrast to Churna Island, the existence of healthy coral habitats near Astola Island is due to negligible industrial activities in the vicinity of the Astola Island," he said. This can also partially be attributed to the declaration of the island as an MPA in June 2017. This declaration aimed to help conserve biodiversity of the area, ban illegal fishing and regulate sustainable recreational activities.

According to the studies carried out by WWF-Pakistan, Astola Island is a hotspot of biodiversity. WWF-Pakistan is the first national organisation that started assessment of biological potential of Astola Island in 1995. Since then a number of expeditions have been sent to this Island by the organisation which revealed the presence of diverse terrestrial flora and fauna.

Astola is home to an endemic saw scale viper (Echis sochureki astolae), carpet viper and cliff racer. This is in addition to nine species of sea snakes that inhabit the subtidal habitats around the Island.

The island is reported to be inhabited by two agama lizards, namely skink and long-tailed dessert lizard. The Island is known for a well-diversified bird fauna consisting of 19 terrestrial and 87 aquatic birds occurring on the Island.

WWF-Pakistan reported 82 species of terrestrial plants from there. The island also harbours rich marine animals, including 23 species of hard coral and a number of soft corals. Moreover, about 156 species of associated fish are found in coral habitat, including a large number of invertebrates.

Astola Island is also rich in commercially imported fish and shellfish species, which is a source of livelihood for coastal communities of the area. The Arabian humpback whale, that is considered to be one of the rarest marine mammals, is also occasionally reported from the surrounding area.

The protected, threatened and endangered species such as crustaceans, sharks, whales, whale sharks, guitarfish and mobulids have been reported from the Island.

Coral habitats harbour the highest biodiversity of any ecosystem globally and directly support over 500 million people worldwide, mostly in poor countries. Corals are among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth, largely due to unprecedented global warming and climate changes, combined with growing local pressures.