It is a shame that compared with the local community’s apathy towards marine life, the international community has promptly taken notice of the state of endangerment of Karachi’s marine life. This is because there is very little regard by locals for the country’s marine life. Those who respect it would consider it a valuable asset to all that the country has to offer. Nonetheless, efforts for an awareness programme for fisherman on the importance of whale sharks must be welcomed in the hopes that they will become cognisant of how some of their actions, when they are out at sea, may have a negative long-term impact on marine life. They must ponder whether it is worth it to destroy Pakistan’s marine life for future generations for the benefit of a quick profit.
We must support the WWF-P in its efforts to implement stricter laws during fishing expeditions and protect not just whale sharks but all precious marine life. Even if hunting certain fish is allowed, there must be proper procedures in place for the sale of marine creatures. Otherwise, at this rate, we are warned that by the next decade, whale sharks might become extinct from Pakistan’s waters.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 16th, 2013.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ