Uzma Manzoor, Muhammad Moazzam, Salman Zubair, M. Zaheer Khan and Babar Hussain
Keywords: Pakistan coast, turtles, nesting, legal protection, marine protected area
Abstract: Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is common in the entire coastal belt of Pakistan, shared by two provinces, Sindh and Balochistan. No record of nesting of Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) and Olive ridley turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) found since 2003 and 2004, respectively, however, distributed in off shore waters of Pakistan, similarly nesting of Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Leather back turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) was not identified in coastal areas. Gill netting and bycatch are the major threats to marine turtle species. Alteration of nesting habitat, harvesting of eggs, plastic and photo pollution, solid waste, oil spillage, developmental and anthropogenic activities could be the main causes of non-nesting behaviour of marine turtle species. Impact of lockdown since March 2020 is positive on nesting behaviour of Green turtle as public is not allowed to visit sea sites, hence disturbance not faced by female turtles. Climate change impact on nesting is not drastic but sex ratio is affected. Sindh Wildlife Department, Coastal Association for Research and Development (CARD) Balochistan and other non-governmental organizations such as International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), World Wide Funds for Nature (WWF-Pakistan) and Scientific and Cultural Society of Pakistan (SCSP) are playing important role for the conservation of marine turtles in Pakistan.
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