Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) on Tuesday stopped issuing port clearance documents to fishing vessels, asking coastal and maritime departments to stop all boats from going out to the sea. “The KFHA has requested the Marine Fisheries Department and Maritime Security Agency and customs (officials) to stop boats,” officials said on Tuesday.
The KFHA had already announced imposing a two-month (June-July) fishing ban. Fishermen are, however, urging the government to reduce the duration of ban, calling for scaling it down to a month. They contended that the ban hit them hard financially. In the meantime, KFHA is all set to strictly implement the ban, warning that violators would face confiscation of fish catch. The authority had set May 28 as the deadline.
The ban has been in vogue in the province for the past five years. The ban will also cover the hunting of fresh water fish species such as rahu, thela and kalbasu in the province. Shrimp species that are banned during June and July included kalri, jaira and kiddi.
The KFHA informed all stakeholders, including Sindh Trawlers Owners and Fishermen Association (Stofa), Fishermen Co-operative Society (FCS), Pakistan Fisheries Exporters Association (Pakfea) and boat builders to comply with the ban. The KFHA advised fishermen to abide by the rules and avoid hunting during the entire duration of the ban, claiming that it would help increase fish and shrimp population. However, fishermen believe that the ban hit their livelihoods hard and urged the government to reduce it to a month.
