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Pakistan Arabian SeaKARACHI, Nov 19: The Pakistan government should declare the Astola Island a marine national park and take urgent steps to conserve what is left of this precious natural resource having a great ecological and economical value.
The co-director of Marine Conservation International, Edinburgh, Scotland and DelPHE coordinator Pakistan, Dr Rupert Ormond, made this point at a seminar, Marine biodiversity conservation: a key to the human livelihood, organised by the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, Karachi University, in collaboration with the British Council, Karachi, on Monday.
The seminar marked the launch of a DelPHE project, designed to enhance the capacity of participating institutions from Pakistan and Bangladesh to asses, monitor and manage biodiversity for conservation and develop eco-friendly aquaculture and fisheries technology by utilising the UK expertise. The project is funded by the Department for International Development, the UK.
Narrating his account of the hard corals and reef fish assemblage in Pakistan, Dr Ormond said older scientific literature usually showed no existence of coral or coral reefs in Pakistani waters, though these were abundantly found in the adjacent areas like the Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat, India and Oman.
more info about ASTOLA ISLAND including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Pakistan Arabian SeaKarachi Scuba Diving Center (KSDC)
Established in 1989 by Yousuf Ali
Master Instructor from
PADI Ca. KSDC Provides a complete range of instructions through training programs with information, advice and assistance
With an objective of promoting Swimming, lifesaving, Scuba Diving, skin diving and other water sports
• Jiwani
o Exploring the fossilize coral reef on the top of the Plato 200meters above the sea level, a total of 30 different species of the corals were found
o Observed the rehabilitation of the mangroves in the Delta of Dasht River supervised by IUCN Jiwani station.
o The three high cliff turtle’s beaches protected by WWF-Pakistan, last year only they have released. Over 100,000. Baby turtles in to the sea.
o Survey the underwater cost of Jiwani hopping to sea some sort of coral formation but to our surprise, no concentration of corals were found under the sea near (Jiwani harbor, turtle beaches, Turtle watching cliff in the east of Jiwani) but lot of sponges, burgundies, ferns and fans, soft corals some hard corals but small patches grown under the rocks where they were protected by the harsh monsoon weather condition.
• Astola Island
The island is situated in the northern Arabian Sea, approximately 25 kilometers off the mainland coast, 40 kilometers East-Southeast of Pasni Harbor, in Balochistan province.
Geographical coordinates: 25°07'N, 63°52'E
Length approximately 6 kilometers
Width approximately 500 meters
Altitude: (average and/or max. & min.) 0 - 200 m
The island is subject to strong wave attack during the southwest monsoons, when wave height exceeds 3.5 meters. The coastline therefore suffers from severe erosion and most of the littoral material is lost to the sea.
The island supports some rare and vulnerable species of animals such as endanger species Green turtle (Chelonia mydas) and quite possibly critically endanger species Hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbracata)
The site is of special value for maintaining the genetic and ecological diversity of the area. The beauty of Astola is that several different ecosystems can be seen on the island. The ecosystems and the plants and animals found there are no longer common elsewhere in Pakistan.
The gorgeous under water world is amazing different forms of cnidarians, Molluscs, Worms, Fishes, Echinoderms, Crustaceans, and other Vertebrates and invertebrates were found in abundance.
Coral reefs are a vital natural resource found in tropical waters throughout the world (Spalding et al. 2001). They are important not only to adjacent coastal communities, where they are often a source of livelihood, but also to national and international communities, where they contribute in various ways to oceanic production and deliver other significant benefits related to their role in tourism, recreation and coastal protection, and as indicators for climate change and waste treatment,. As more research findings indicate that the species richness and biodiversity contained in reef ecosystems may not regenerate once destroyed, the conservation of coral reefs has become a major concern, people dependent on coral reefs are some of the most vulnerable groups in many coastal and island communities, because reef and reef-based resources are often their primary means of food production, source of income and livelihood
KSDC’S LIBRARY The Plant and Animals of Karachi Coast
Molluscs
Snails
Bivalves
Clams
Oysters
Squids
Cuttlefish
Octopuses
Slugs and Snails without Shell
Sear hares
Nudibranchs
Worms
Flatworm
Bristleworm
Tubeworm
Fan worm
Peanut worm
Acorn worm
Fishes
Plants
Echinoderms
Sea Stars
Sea Cucumbers
Sand Dollars
Sea Urchins
Brittle Star
Other Invertebrates
Horseshoe crab
Crab
Spiders
Sponges
Ascidians
Bryozoans
Cnidarians
Anemones
Sea Pens
Corals
Crustaceans
Crabs
Hermit crab
Shrimps
Lobster
Mantis shrimp
Sea slaters
Barnacles
Vertebrates
Snakes
Tsunami 2004
As ...
more info about CHERNA ISLAND including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Ireland AtlanticTidal bay, kilometres long, narrow opening to ocean.
Slack for 20-30 mins. Drift dive otherwise - drift out just before low water and back in as tide turns.
No facilities, shore dive.
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Cayman islands Caribbean SeaA good wall dive, not as good and bloody bay but a good wall dive nonetheless.
more info about Cemetary Wall, Cayman Brac including maps, reviews, and ratings...
France Mediterranean SeaBeautiful diving place....
more info about SAint-Cry-sur-Mer including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Italy Ionian SeaBeautyfull site dive for wrecks and biological marine life.
more info about Le Castella including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Malaysia South China SeaThe dive site consists of a long line of tangled rope, probably old fishing equipment. Sandy bottom with the rope acting as shelter for marine life. Nearby there are some seafans that usually have false cowries (Phenacovolva sp.) on them. Rare forms of nudibranchs such as Bornella stellifer and Thecacera pennigera are crawling around. Some large Map Puffers (Arothron mappa) choose to rest here and there is supposed to be a Frogfish near the seafans, but we didn't find him. Sea Temp in May 29c
For dive site photos
website more info about Frog Point, Perhentians including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Egypt Red SeaDive operation was from Israel. The guides were great and the dive visibility fantastic.
more info about Tiran Island, South Lagoon including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Myanmar (Burma) Andaman SeaBlack rock is a barren piece of rock about 80m long by 7m wide, isolated in the middle of the Mergui Archipelago about 60miles from the mainland. The site draws in some big fish like the Whale shark, Manta ray, Bull sharks, Jenkins ray's, Bloteched fantail ray's, as well as they usual Indian Ocean tropical reef fish. Black rock is also a great spot for macro and you can find Seahorses, Harlequin shrimp, Ornate Ghost pipefish, many types of Nudibranch, not found in neighbouring Thailand, the list goes on. On the East side you have a gentle sploing reef slope down to 30m and the sand. A little further from the reef you can find scattered boulder at depths 40-60+m and is often the playground for the sharks and ray's. On the west side you have a wall that descends down to 35m and then the rocks, boulders and sand slope off to 40-60+m.
For me this site is the Burma equivalent of Thailand's Richelieu rock. I have seen more big stuff here than all my years of diving at Richelieu rock. A place thats best dived between Jan-Apr.
more info about Black Rock, Mergui Archipelago including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Mexico PacificI have dived with White Sharks, at Neptune Islands off South Australia & now at Guadalupe. I have also seen hours of footage from South Africa, And I would say that Guadalupe is by far the best place in the world to see these magnificent creatures.
more info about Isla Guadalupe including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Puerto Rico Caribbean SeaGood site for practice navegation and photograph
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Bahamasshollow reef with lots of small fish and nudis
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Fiji Koro SeaVisit by liveaboard (the Naia), or by the resort on the island. There are many great dive sites. Wall dives with sightings of blue ribbon eels, large hammerhead and black tip sharks, along with wonderful macro opportunites. Have also had many dives with manta rays. Fiji is great diving all year, but my favorite time of year is April - June.
more info about Wakaya island including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Malaysia South China SeaThe dive site is a large pinnacle sea mount, the tip of which protrudes from the sea. The base of the mount is around 24 metres where you can find Nurse Sharks and Blue-Spotted Ribbontail Rays resting under coral during the day. There is a shelf at about 12 metres which is covered in anemones and soft corals. Schools of Bigeye Snapper hang around the North side with Yellowtail Barracuda patrolling nearby. The currents can be strong here, but you can usually shelter on the leeside, if it's not possible to go completely around. It is a very popular dive site and usually has 5 to 6 boats on it in the morning, so it can get a bit congested with dive groups. Late afternoon is usually best for avoiding the crowds. Sea Temp in May 29c
For dive site photos
website more info about Temple of the Sea (Tokong Laut) including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United States Atlantic (South America coastal)Incredible dive with very "people friendly" dolphins. Expensive dive but funds go to dolphin research.
more info about Dolphin Aquarium/shipwreck reef including maps, reviews, and ratings...
Taiwan Asian SeaTaiwan.
more info about Long Dong Bay. including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United States Atlantic (North American coastal)Upside-down hopper barge with field of concrete culverts next to it. Lots of sea life. 70 fsw max.
more info about Sea Emperor, Deerfield Beach, Florida. 50-70 fsw including maps, reviews, and ratings...
France Mediterranean SeaEtang de Thau is a beautiful inland sea - not very deep but so rich in fishes and all other things...
more info about Balaruc les Bains including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United Kingdom South China SeaDive site is a shallow lagoon (max depth 12m) in a sheltered sandy bay. There is normally no current and the area is roped off for snorkelers to use, so it's a popular site with lots of boat traffic and for that reason care needs to be taken if diving on the deeper outside edge of the lagoon. It has a large coral reef with densely packed coral heads fringing the lagoon. Experienced divers will probably want to dive along the fringing edge and avoid the shallower snorkeling areas.
For dive site photos
website more info about D'Lagoon, Perhentian Kecil including maps, reviews, and ratings...
United Kingdom Atlantic (European coastal)One of Plymouth's best wrecks the Elk is 108ft and 181 Tonne. originally a trawler she was requisitioned during the war as a minesweeper.
She hit a mine in November 1940 and sunk within an hour.
Today she is relatively intact in 32M upright, with the bow facing NW.
You can get into the fish hold and engine room.
The Elk is at 50.18.30, 04.10.17
more info about HMS Elk including maps, reviews, and ratings...