The local fishermen in Gwadar held a demonstration outside the Gwadar Press Club against the rampant trawling on the coast. The agitated fishermen raised slogans against what they call the “trawling mafia”, saying that the process is putting the future of fishing in Gwadar in jeopardy.
According to reports, local fishermen held a protest against trawling outside of the Gwadar Press Club. Addressing the gathering, speakers said that fishing is the sole source of income for the residents of Gwadar, Jiwani and other coastal areas of Balochistan. But the rampant “illegal trawling” is endangering their sole source of livelihood.
Trawling is the favoured method of commercial fishing companies as it can yield large numbers of fish in one go. It involved dragging heavy-weighted large nets along the seafloor. It is an environmentally destructive process as it is indiscriminate in what it catches. As the net is swept across the floor, everything that comes in its wake is trapped, including endangered species of aquatic life. For this and several other reasons, many governments have introduced laws to regulate the process.
The process of trawling has also seen an alarming increase in the waters of Balochistan where the commercial fishing companies have been fishing at an environmentally frightening rate. And this process has also risked the living of the local fishermen and brought them to the streets.
Haji Khuda Dad Wajo, head of a union of local fishermen in Gwadar, was among the speakers to address the gathering of angry fishermen outside the press club. He said that Fisheries department of the government of Balochistan has failed to tackle the issue, despite spending billions of rupees for the cause.
He also claimed that “non-indigenous” influential people have been exercising violence upon local fishermen. The demonstrators said that if the government of Balochistan does not put an end to the practice, fishermen from all coastal areas of Balochistan will come out in protest.
The rampant trawling has been a thorny issue in coastal areas of Balochistan for quite some time. Locals have complained to the relevant authorities in this regard but to no avail. Locals also claim that the conduct of the Pakistani coast guards has also been quite “rough” and “harsh” with fishermen.