A large number of fishermen are protesting in Pasni, district Gwadar, on the fifth consecutive day against the illegal trawling in the Sea. The protestors argue that due to the rampant, unchecked trawling, fishing in the sea has become difficult for them and their only source of income has dried up.
Fish traders Hanif Basheer, Aziz Peer Baksh, Zafar Iqbal and others visited the protest and expressed solidarity with the protesting fishermen. Speaking at the occasion, the fishermen said that the government and fishing companies are indifferent to the destruction of marine life. They said that we will continue to fight for marine biodiversity and our right to fishing.
The protestors said that the unchecked trawling in the sea has seized up their only source of income – fishing. They said that illegal fishing has made it very difficult for the local fishermen to catch fish in the seas.
The fishermen in Pasni have been protesting for the past five days. They are demanding that the authorities take measures to end the illegal trawling in the Arabian Sea and the reopening of the Pasni Harbour. The fishermen also demanded an end to the handsome commission that the local fish traders receive from them.
Maulana Hidayat Ur Rehman, the leader of the Haq Do movement, voiced the concerns of the local fishermen, warning that he will call a protest and block the coastal highway if the authorities fail to take notice of the issue.
Fishermen in Gwadar and its adjoining areas have been protesting for the past couple of months against illegal trawling in the coastal belt of Balochistan. In December last year, the locals staged a month-long protest camp in Gwadar and demanded that the authorities take action against illegal trawling in the sea. The protestors also asked for other social reforms, like the elimination of the unnecessary security checkpoints in Gwadar and the rest of Balochistan, the reopening of the border trade with Iran and the withdrawal of the unnecessary security forces from Balochistan.
The government officials claim that they are taking measures to curb illegal trawling on the Arabian coast – the provincial fisheries department of Balochistan recently claimed that it has arrested 84 illegal trawlers from the Arabian Sea. However, the fishermen argue that these claims are false and that illegal fishing is prospering the sea.