KARACHI, Feb 17: Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sardar Manzoor Ali Khan Panhwar has issued directives to the concerned authorities to devise strategy to prevent use of banned nets, Bhuloo, Gujjo and Katra, which has been causing reduction in seafood landing at the port.

In a statement, he said there is an urgent need for setting up a force to cope with this menace. He is of the view that a well organized mafia was behind the ongoing use of banned nets.

He said landing of fish at Karachi Harbour has declined by 22 per cent during July-December 2002.

The minister said he would personally approach the Sindh Chief Minister to ensure immediate legislation in this regard in order to stop the use of banned nets.

Local fishermen had already been clamouring over the continuous decline in fish landing at the harbour due to the excessive use of banned nets followed by increasing activities of deep-sea foreign trawlers thus sweeping away all the fish stocks of Arabian sea.

The spawning cycle of shrimps takes place during Nov-Dec every year at the mangrove sites in the creeks at Sindh Coast. During April-May, these shrimps enter the juvenile stage and during July-June they acquire adulthood in the sea. Fishermen catch the shrimps with banned nets before the shrimps reach the sea and the full grown stage.

The fisheries sector, he said, had already suffered due to after effects of 9/11 incidents and as a result the average unit price (AUP) of exportable fish has declined by 9.95 per cent.

Fish exports in 2001-02 had increased by 7.54 per cent in terms of quantity but there was decline of 3.17 per cent in terms of value.

There has been a reduction of 38.28 per cent in export of shrimps alone inclusive of Kiddi and Patas, which are highest earners of foreign exchange, he added.

In July-January 2002-03, exports of fish and fish preparations fetched $79.4 million (49,260 tons) as compared to $83 million (50,974 tons) in the same period of 2001-02.