| Gwatar Bay | |
|---|---|
| Jiwani Bay | |
 Satellite photo of Gwatar Bay (at bottom right) | |
  Gwatar Bay Location between Iran and Pakistan | |
| Location | Dashtiari County,Sistan and Baluchestan province,Iran Gwadar District,Balochistan province,Pakistan |
| Coordinates | 25°06′49″N61°36′51″E / 25.11361°N 61.61417°E /25.11361; 61.61417 |
| River sources | Bahu Kalat River,Dasht River |
| Max. length | 30 kilometres (19 mi) |
| Max. width | 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) |
| Settlements | Bandar Gavater,Jiwani,Pasabandar |
Gwatar Bay (Persian:خلیج گواتر,Urdu:خلیج گواتر) is an inlet of theArabian Sea, located on the northeast of theGulf of Oman, and indenting theMakran coast at the southernmost part of theborder of Iran and Pakistan.
The bay is named after the Iranian town ofBandar Gavater on the northwest shore, which should not be confused with the Pakistani town ofGwadar, about 50 kilometres (30 mi) to the east of the bay. Equally, this bay should not be confused with Gwadar West Bay and Gwadar East Bay, which are adjacent to the peninsula of Gwadar, lying about 20 miles (30 km) and 40 miles (60 km) respectively east of the subject of this article.
The bay is mentioned in a book called "Gwatar Bay toSir Creek: The Golden Coast of Pakistan — History and Memoirs", which references the two bodies of water that form the western and eastern ends of the coast of Pakistan.[1]
The bay is about 30 kilometres (20 mi) long (east-west) and 16 kilometres (10 mi) wide (north-south).
TheBahu Kalat River (also known as the Dashtiari River) flows into the bay from the northwest, and theDasht River flows in from the northeast. Adjacent to the mouths of the two rivers, there are extensivemangrove swamps including theJiwani Coastal Wetland.
Apart from Bandar Gavater, the other main settlements on the bay are the Pakistani town ofJiwani on the eastern shore and the Iranian town ofPasabandar at the southwest corner.
The bay contains important fishing grounds which are being threatened by increasing industrial activity and overfishing as well as the development of the nearby ports of Gwadar andChahbahar. For a number of years, there have been calls for the establishment of aMarine Protected Area covering the bay.[2]
In 2021, the provincial government of Balochistan, Pakistan, and the local branch of theWorld Wide Fund for Nature began building an artificial reef in a four square mile area west of Jiwani.[3] The reef comprises 330 concrete blocks, each weighing 1.5 tons, mostly placed underwater to attract corals and sea creatures.[4]
