Sindh talking to experts to set up new harbour at Keti Bandar

National and international experts are being consulted for establishing a new harbour at Keti Bandar to provide the fisher folk of Thatta, Badin and the adjoining areas easy access to market, the Sindh government said on Wednesday.

Addressing a workshop organised in connection with World Fisheries Day, Dr Mir Allah Dad Talpur, director general of the provincial fisheries department, said they are planning to set up a new harbour at Keti Bandar, for which national and international experts are being consulted.

He said this facility will not only save transport costs of the fisher folk but they will also be able to fetch good prices for their catch. He deplored that the sea is being used as a dumping site, which results in the degradation of the rich marine ecosystem.

He informed the participants that in order to reduce water pollution, the government is also planning to establish three sewage water treatment plants in Karachi.

“The fisheries department is taking all possible steps to improve the living standards of the fisher folk by promoting coastal ecotourism as practiced in Malaysia and other coastal countries in the world.”

The Sindh government will also approach the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the United Nation’s Food & Agriculture Organisation to improve the fisheries sector of Pakistan.

He stressed the need to provide quality education to children of the fisher folk, for which he said the government is mulling over awarding scholarships through an endowment fund. The event was organised by the WWF-Pakistan, in collaboration with the fisheries department under its Sustainable Fisheries Entrepreneurship Project supported by the Engro Foundation, for the fisher folk of Ibrahim Hyderi, Rehri and Kakapir.

WWF-P Conservation Director Dr Babar Khan gave an overview of his organisation’s observer programme and its contribution to the conservation of the endangered, threatened and protected species.

He said that around 12,000 dolphins and 28,000 turtles used to die annually by entanglement in fishing nets, but this has been significantly reduced to a few hundred now through safe release, awareness, education and innovative practices.

Terming the safe release of various species a significant contribution towards the conservation of marine biodiversity, he appreciated the efforts of the fisheries departments, which in collaboration with the WWF-P and other relevant agencies are working to improve the fisheries sector of the country.

Babar deplored that the illicit catching of juvenile fish is a serious threat to the fast depleting stocks in Pakistan, and urged the stakeholders to promote fish farming in inland waters as well as in the coastal areas so that the fishing industry can get additional raw material for processing, export and revenue generation.