Fishermen in coastal town of Pasni protest over illegal trawling and the use of banned fishing techniques
According to the Balochistan Post correspondent, fishermen parked their boats near the coast in protest and staged a sit-in against the illegal trawling and the usage of banned fishing nets.
While talking to the TBP correspondent, a fisherman claimed that Fisheries department had struck a deal with illegal trawler owners and they have been allowed to trawl near the coast.
Bottom trawling is banned in Balochistan, it not only destroys the marine life but damages the ecosystem. It uses illegal net sizes that catch fishes indiscriminately, including endangered species.
Protestors alleged that they were not allowed to fish near the ‘Astola Island’ and the sea near the coast has no fish as trawlers have complegely destroyed the marine life by using illegal net size and bottom trawling.
“We do not have resources to fish in the deep sea and the coastline is owned by trawler mafia, who are supported by former bureaucrats and the people inside fisheries department, if it continues, our children will die of hunger”, said another fisherman among the furious crowd.
Balochistan has a coast-line of 700 kilometres and unlike the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans, it is free of hurricanes. It is twice more productive than the other portions of the Indian Ocean.
It is pertinent to mention that fishermen in Gwadar and Jewni towns of Balochistan too had protested against the illegal trawling in past. The protests were called off after assurances of action against the trawlers.
Recently, fishermen have been bared to fish near the coast in Gwadar due to security threats and in Ormara due to the security of Naval Base, which has harmed the economic and living conditions of local fishermen.