Blue whale’s stomach sold for Rs100,000

KARACHI:

Marine experts claim that the dead whale found in Karachi's waters was not an Arabian Humpback but a blue whale.

They claim that although the blue whale is common in many oceans, it is considered to be an endangered species. "It is 67-foot-long and it is a blue whale not a humpback," said Moazzam Khan, the technical adviser of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-Pakistan and the chairperson of the Pakistan Whales and Dolphin Society.

A three-member team of marine scientists, including Saeedul Islam, Kashif Ayub and Khalid Mehmood who are also affiliated with WWF-Pakistan, have preserved the samples of the whale, which is in Ismail Village in Khudi Creek - around 39 kilometres from the city.

This is not the first time a blue whale has washed up on Karachi's shore. On September 21, 2011, a dead blue whale was found in Clifton.

"The fishermen saw the whale about 10 days ago but managed to bring it to the shore on Tuesday," claimed Khan. He said that the team had informed him that the stomach of the whale had been cut. "The fishermen have sold it for Rs100,000," he said. "They believe it has Amber but they are mistaken. The stomach is of no use."

Published in The Express Tribune, August 14^th,2014.