Churna Island
Charna Island (Urdu: جزیرہ چرنا) is located near Mubarak Goth, Kiamari Town in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Churna Island is a small uninhabited island located in the Arabian Sea, about 9 km (5.6 mi) west of the mouth of the Hub river, at the boundary between the provinces of Balochistan and Sindh. Charna is approximately 1.2 km (0.75 mi) long and 0.5 km (0.31 mi) wide. Charna is also locally known "Cheerno". It is 6 km away from Mubarak Village. Fishermen of Mubarak Goth go for fishing near the Charna Island. There are many species of fish, crabs and lobsters. Anglers take boats to go Island from Mubarak Goth. Mubarak Goth is a second largest fishermen locality in Karachi, which lacks facilities including education, health, jetty, ownership rights and communication etc."[1]
Churna is mostly used as a firing range by the Pakistan Navy "and for Scuba Diving, Free diving, Underwater photography, Camping, Trekking, Hiking, Speed boating, Water sports, Knee boarding, Wake Tubing, Banana tubing, Jet Skiing, Cliff Diving and Snorkeling."[1]
Marine life around Charna includes poisonous sea snakes, barracuda, narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, cobia, Dorado, Tuna, angel fish, sea urchin, sea fan, oyster, ray fish and rare green turtle. Pakistan Game Fishing Association (PGFA) holds national angling competitions near Charna. It is the presence of coral reefs around this island that attracts the number of big game fish around it. However, illegal net sizes used by fishing trawlers are destroying this natural treasure.
The area surrounding Charna is popular for scuba diving because of the presence of widely varied marine life and different kinds of coral reef. Some claim that "there are more than 60 types of corals found near Charna waters and many new corals started to flourish after the 2005 Indian Ocean tsunami."[2]
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Coordinates: 24°54′N 66°36′E / 24.900°N 66.600°E
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