Fisherfolk community wants dangerous nets, overfishing outlawed

Karachi

Government officials and leaders of the fishermen community at a national conference called for an immediate implementation of the ban on prohibited fishnets and overfishing as proposed to be enforced.

They were participating on the first day of a two-day national conference titled “the Implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries (SSF)” at a hotel on Wednesday.

The workshop was organised by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.

Presiding over the conference, Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Mir Hasil Khan Bizenjo, citing recent report, said: “In the upcoming 20 years, we may not get any fish from the sea. We will see the fish only in aquarium”.

Criticizing government officials in the Sindh and Balochistan provinces, Bizenjo said that they were “the culprits of the sea at the high level of crime as they had been taking bribe from sea mafia”.

“Small fishermen are in starvation while the mafia in Karachi is depleting the marine resources badly,” said the federal minister.

“Currently, the use of destructive nets in the sea is not less than a crime. The sea ecology is being endangered through these destructive nets.”

He informed that over 15,000 fishing trawlers operating in the sea had been using the banned nets, which were virtually sweeping the sea resources, causing depletion of fish as well as affecting the biodiversity.  

Bijenjo said the federal government was interested to resolve issues of the fishermen communities with consultation of all the fishermen representative bodies.  

Sindh Minister for Livestock and Fisheries Muhammad Ali Malkani, in his speech, announced that that the Sindh government would soon establish the Fisheries Advisory Council and sought guidance of the fishing communities.

“This council will take advices and input of the fishermen community. Without input of the stakeholders, there will be no sustainable implementation of the guidelines,” Malkani said.

The provincial minister said the usage of prohibited nets for fishing in the sea had been destroying marine life for the past many years.

Haji Shafi Muhammad Jamote, a leader of the Pakistan Muslim League—Nawaz  and an MPA from coastal areas of Ibrahim Haideri and Rahri Goth, said the human and industrial waste in the canal waters and the sea were affecting the citizens and the marine resources.

Earlier, PFF Chairperson Muhammad Ali Shah, while giving a presentation on voluntary guidelines of the FAO regarding the SSF, said the major role of the guidelines was to move towards responsible fisheries.

“Until this objective is achieved, we cannot save the fisheries and protect the lives of the fisher people,” he said.

The workshop was divided in panel discussion, where experts and leaders discussed the issues related to the fisher people and suggested ways for the implementation of the FAO guidelines.