Rescue mission: Green turtle gets helping hand on Karachi beach

The Sindh Wildlife Department, along with volunteers, assisted a female green turtle that came ashore to lay eggs on Karachi’s coast but struggled to climb a mound of sand formed by tidal activity and nearby construction.

The incident occurred at Hawksbay, where the construction of beach huts has endangered the last remaining nesting grounds for female turtles in Pakistan. Officials helped the heavy green turtle cross the sand mound to reach a suitable nesting site.

The nesting season for female turtles on Karachi’s coast continues from August to February, during which each turtle lays between 80 and 120 eggs.

Ashfaq Memon, in charge of the Marine Turtle Centre at Hawksbay, said the department has taken a unique step to support green turtle reproduction by creating opportunities for male and female turtles to mate in shallow coastal waters.

He confirmed that the experiment has been successful, with green turtles now mating closer to shore rather than in deeper waters as before, a move expected to bolster the population along the Karachi and Balochistan coasts.