Fisherman frees whale entangled in net

Saifullah says the majestic creature circled the boat to express thanks

KARACHI:

In a remarkable display of compassion, a fisherman successfully rescued a 30-foot-long sperm whale entangled in his net near Ormara on the Balochistan coastline. The grateful whale circled the boat, expressing its appreciation.

The sperm whale, one of the world's four largest whale species and the largest predator on the planet, typically weighs around 40,000 kilograms and can measure up to 16 meters from nose to tail tip. Primarily feeding on squid in the deep sea at depths ranging from 300 to 500 meters, these majestic creatures play a vital role in marine ecosystems.

Mohammad Shafiullah, a local from Malakand, found himself faced with an unexpected challenge on Saturday morning as he hauled in his fishing net laid the previous night off the Balochistan coast. The catch felt unusually heavy, and to the awe of Shafiullah and his crew, a massive whale emerged from the water, ensnared in a subsurface net introduced by the World Wildlife Fund-Pakistan (WWF-P) to prevent entanglement.

Despite the nature of the designed net, the nearly 9-meter-long whale struggled to navigate through it. The captain and crew attempted to free the distressed mammal, but it proved time-consuming. Fearing for the whale's safety, Shafiullah decided to take a daring step to release the innocent creature.

Putting his own life at risk, Shafiullah approached the whale to cut the net, well aware that any sudden movement by the colossal sea creature could endanger him, his crew, and the boat.

After half an hour of meticulous effort, Shafiullah managed to cut approximately 500 meters of the net, liberating the sperm whale.

In a heartwarming display, the intelligent mammal circled the boat, seemingly expressing gratitude. The crew was astonished when the whale exposed its teeth, almost as if it were smiling. The whale continued to circle and dive around the boat for about 15 minutes before disappearing into the depths.

According to Moazzam Ali Khan, a Technical Adviser at WWF-P, sperm whales, along with blue whales, Arabian humpback whales, and brydes whales, make up the four largest whale species. While the latter three are baleen whales that filter water for food, the sperm whale stands out as the world's largest predator, primarily hunting squid in the deep sea at depths of 300 to 500 meters.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list notes that the sperm whale's diet includes octopus, squid, and shark. Sperm whale sightings in Pakistan were first recorded in 2007, and the recent incident of a whale trapped in a net occurred 16 km south of Mara along the continental shelf, an important marine mammal area in the northeastern Arabian Sea.

The incident highlights the need to protect whales and dolphins, given their endangered status. In 2014, WWF Pakistan introduced the subsurface gillnet, which has since been adopted by Pakistani tuna fishermen, effectively putting an end to dolphin entrapment in fishing nets. This recent rescue marks the first instance of a large whale being caught in fishing nets in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2023.