img_Lal_Sohanra_Pakist_optSTAFF REPORT KHI: Piracy at sea, growing oil shipments and illegal fishing have imperilled the marine life, which need the governments attention to protect the fast depleting ecology, marine experts said at a recently held workshop.

The event was organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature – Pakistan (WWF-P) on Sustainable Marine Resources called for a “robust” management system to ensure conservation of marine resources against various threats.

In his presentation, Technical Adviser on Marine Fisheries to WWF-Pakistan Moazzam said that maritime piracy on the Somali coast has become a key threat and concern for the global community.

Highlighting various contamination scenarios, he said that marine resources along the coast of Somalia was fast becoming a growing threat, adding that illegal foreign ships were dumping vast amounts of chemicals, including cadmium and nuclear materials, presenting a growing level of threat to the marine life.

Senior Director of the local chapter of WWF Dr Ejaz Ahmad said that there is a proposed project which “will focus on achieving political commitment, shared vision and institutional capacity demonstrated for a joint ecosystem-based management for marine resources”.

Senior Fisheries Researcher from Iran Tooraj Valinassab expressed concern over the growing number of ships sailing through the Gulf. “About 15,000 shipping operations take place annually and a number of oil wells have been noticed in the Persian Gulf which threaten marine ecology and causing pollution in the Gulf,” he said.

By Web Team

Technology Times Web team handles all matters relevant to website posting and management.