KARACHI, Aug 21: Livelihood of more than 90,000 registered fishermen of Sindh is at stake as the oil slick in Karachi’s fishing zone has led to a sharp decline in the sale of seafood in the city markets.
Prices of different fish species have come down up to 60/70 per cent.
Owing to the low off-take, traders at fish harbour have curtailed bulk procurement which has been forcing fishermen to dispose of their catch at whatever the rate offered.
Most popular ‘Surmahi’ was sold in retail market at Rs200-250 per kg which is now available at Rs50-60 per kg. Similarly, pomphret, locally known as ‘paaplet’ is available at Rs200 per kg as against its previous price of Rs600-700 before the oil slick. Heera was sold at Rs64 per kg on Thursday as against its normal price of about Rs115 per kg.
Haji Khan Mir Khan Niazi, President of the Sindh Trawler-owners and Fishermen Association, Karachi, told PPI that they were not fishing in the affected zone, and that the catch available in the market was netted in the coastal areas of Thatta and Badin. He was of the view that the drop in prices was prompted by speculations, spread by brokers.
He feared that fishermen would not be able even to purchase their food and other articles for their next fishing trip if the situation did not improve. He dispelled the impression that the fish being sold in the city markets was affected by the oil slick and carried any disease.
According to official sources, of the total 90,205 fishermen registered with the Karachi Fisheries Harbour Authority, 63,915 are full-timer and 19,835 part-timer whereas the rest fish occasionally.
The crews of 6,462 boats and trawlers would also suffer equally due to the dropped prices.
“Fishermen belonging to 13 coastal villages with a population of more than 0.2 million are among those directly affected by the oil slick,” according to a survey conducted by the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, an NGO.
Following are the population figures of the affected villages: Baba (15,000), Bhit (12,000), Shamspir (4,500), Younisabad (6,000), Kaka (10,000), Salehabad (5,500), Abdul Rehman (10,000), Keamari (20,000), Ibrahim Hyderi (100,000), Chashma (10,000), Rehri (35,000), Lat Basti (10,000) and Fishermen Village in Gizri (5,000).
The NGO claimed that the incident had affected the 30-km-long section of the Karachi coast from Abdul Rehman Village in Hawkesbay to Lat Basti in Bin Qasim.
On the other hand, livelihood of the 3,000 boatmen involved in transporting passengers between Keamari and Baba Bhit/Manora and between Shamspir and Younisabad is also at stake as their business has declined by up to 40/50 per cent.
“We usually conduct 16 to 18 trips between Keamari and Baba Bhit/Manora every day but the number has now come down to eight/nine,” said one of the boatmen.
The fishermen fear that the complete cleaning of seawater and beaches might take at least five years.
“The fishermen will have to suffer a double loss. While the slick has destroyed the entire sea and shore habitat, it has also eliminated fish species on a large scale, said Mohammad Ali Shah, Chairman of the Forum.
Haji Shafi Mohammad Jamot, a former vice-president of the Fishermen Cooperative Society, has observed that the crude oil had endangered mangroves at Manora, Baba and Bhit islands because tides, obviously containing crude oil, are expected to turn high in five to six days that would also pose a threat to the mangroves in Korangi Creek and Ibrahim Hyderi.—PPI
