• The last sighting of the giant manta was in offshore waters north of Churna Island in October 2016.
• The two giant mantas have now been spotted in offshore waters 50 nautical miles south of Karachi.
• Although belonging to the shark family, giant mantas are harmless animals that feed on small shrimp.

KARACHI: Two giant mantas, species related to shark and ray, were filmed swimming in southwest Karachi in the Arabian Sea on March 5, according to a statement released Sunday by the Global Fund for nature (WWF-Pakistan). .

This species, recently declared “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and added to the IUCN Red List, was commonly found in Pakistan, but is now rarely seen. The last sighting of the giant manta was in offshore waters north of Churna Island in October 2016.

The two giant mantas have now been spotted in offshore waters 50 nautical miles south of Karachi. It is extremely rare to see two giant manta rays together.

Although belonging to the shark family, giant mantas are harmless animals that feed on small shrimp.

Fearing the disappearance of Pakistan’s manta rays, WWF-Pakistan declared them an endangered species in 2016, and provincial fisheries departments have banned killing and selling them.

The manta ray population is declining at an alarming rate in Pakistan due to pressure on the fishing industry, said WWF-Pakistan’s senior biodiversity conservation director Rab Nawaz.

WWF-Pakistan Technical Advisor Muhammad Moazzam Khan highlighted the need to declare Churna Island as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) since it is known to be the final resting place of giant manta and other megafauna (whale shark, sunfish, whales and dolphins).