STAFF REPORT KHI: Local fishermen of Damb village near Sonminai, Balochistan, have recently found the corpse of a dead brydes whale deep inside the Miani Hor Lagoon, about 15 kilometres from entrance to the open ocean. The body was decomposed and its parts were lying scattered on the beach.
The dead whale later beached. A team of officials and experts from WWF-Pakistan, Balochistan Forest and Wildlife Department inspected and collected DNA samples for analysis.
Moazzam Khan, a former Director General, Marine Fisheries Department, told the media that ambergris is not found in baleen whales and fishermen have unnecessary mutilated the carcass of the mammal.
According to the fishermen, the whale remained in Miani Hor lagoon for a day, before dying near Titian area. Fishermen towed the whale carcass to the southern part of the lagoon and beached it at Matira.
“Whales seldom venture so deep inside creeks and lagoons. It seems that in pursuit of their prey which are small fish found in shallow waters, this whales had accidentally entered in the Miani Hor lagoon and because of disorientation in the profile of the lagoon it ventured deeper, thus getting stranded,” said Khan.