A 35-foot-long blue whale was found dead on Monday in a remote part of Gwatar Bay, near the Pakistan-Iran border.
Local fisherman Ahmad Baloch, who was fishing in the area near Kuntani, Balochistan, reported the sighting of the whale’s body floating in the water.
Experts believe the whale may have died several days earlier in the open sea and was carried toward the bay by strong currents and rough waters.
While the exact cause of death remains unknown, it is suspected that the whale may have been caught in gillnets commonly used in the region’s fishing practices.
The blue whale, or Balaenoptera musculus, is one of three baleen whale species known to inhabit Pakistani waters, along with Bryde’s whale and the Arabian humpback whale.
There are four recognised subspecies of blue whales. Based on its relatively small size, the dead whale may have been a pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda), native to the Northern Indian Ocean.
Muhammad Moazzam Khan, Technical Advisor at WWF-Pakistan, expressed deep concern over the whale’s death, calling it “sad news for the conservation community around the world.”
He noted that blue whales are generally found in tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Ocean and stressed the urgent need to enhance conservation efforts for this endangered species.
He also highlighted that all cetaceans, including whales and dolphins, are protected under wildlife and fisheries laws in both Sindh and Balochistan.