Giant sawfish caught, auctioned in Karachi

KARACHI: A 15-feet long giant female large-tooth sawfish was caught by a fisherman, on Saturday, 26 May between the mouth of Turchan and Khajar Creek. and sold out by its trawler same day, according to WWF-Pakistan.

Locally known as Liara, the catch by Shrimp trawler Al Zahid Ali is estimated to weigh approximately 1,320 kg. It was shifted to a boat with the help of a crane and auctioned the same day in Ibrahim Hyderi, Karachi, fetching Rs90, 000.

Sawfishes are one of the rarest group of marine animals whose population is globally threatened with extinction due to overfishing. Three species of sawfishes namely knife-tooth (Anoxypristis cuspidatus), large-tooth (Pristis pristis) and large-comb (Pristis zijsron) have been reported from Pakistan. There was an abundance of sawfish in Pakistan prior to the 1980s but because of the vulnerability of this species, specially the presence of a large rostra (saw) in front of their head, its population rapidly collapsed in Pakistan and since 1985, there are no commercial fisheries in existence.

It is believed that sawfishes are practically extinct in Pakistan. However, during the last decade a WWF-Pakistan initiated programme has documented a few specimens, incidentally caught by fishermen and reported to authorities. It is alarming to note that a similar incident took place on 22 June 2013, also near Khajar Creek, where a 450 kg large sawfish was caught. Studies reveal that the sawfish inhabits coastal waters, and sometimes ascend rivers. In 1962 a large specimen of sawfish was caught in Hyderabad near Ghulam Muhammad Barrage about 170 km from the coastline.

Considering their status and vulnerability catching, landing, marketing and sale of the species has been banned in Sindh vide Notification No. 5(3)SO(FISH)/L&F/16 dated 18 May, 2016 under Sindh Fisheries Ordinance, 1980. A similar ban is also imposed in Balochistan. Because of the decline in sawfish populations worldwide, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed all sawfish species as ‘Critically Endangered’. Sawfish are also included in Appendix 1 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) which prohibits any commercial trade in those species.