Charna Island - Part 2/4 – The activities
Due to the presence of widely varied marine life and different kinds of coral reef in the beautiful waters surrounding the island, Charna is popular for watersports such as scuba diving, snorkeling, tow tubing, big game fishing, spear fishing, boating and jet skiing.
There are more than 60 types of corals found near Charna waters and many new corals started to flourish after the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004.
The diverse marine life around Charna is surrounded by dolphins, sting rays, cuttle fish, parrot fish, angel fish, banner fish, puffer fish, turtles, moray eel, moon angel fish, red snapper and barracudas.
Other marine life around Charna includes the yellow-bellied sea snake, great barracuda, narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, cobia, mahi-mahi, skipjack tuna, angel fish, sea urchin, sea fan, oyster, ray fish and rare green turtle.
Jellyfish are also found here during the summer months however they are in large numbers during the month of October.
Those who are nervous about scuba diving can choose to snorkel instead of being weighed down by an oxygen tank. Life jacket and snorkeling gear may be provided by the trip operators.
Divers must follow the guiding ropes, installed on water surface of the snorkeling area, pulling the ropes makes it easy to move forward.
The Pakistan Game Fishing Association holds national angling competitions here. It’s the presence of coral reefs around the island that attracts scores of big game fish, however, illegal net sizes used by fishing trawlers are destroying this treasure.
To enjoy water activities it is recommended that visitors bring along regular shorts, tights, trousers, T-shirts (full sleeves advised) and wet suits specially designed for snorkeling in cold weather.
Visitors must also carry their original CNIC, a hat, water proof sun block (recommended SPF-90 plus), towel, sun glass, phone charger, etc. Mobile communication works at Charna.