KARACHI, Nov 17: Karachi-based fishermen communities have urged the government to provide them alternative sources of income as the fisheries sector is under tremendous pressures and could hardly meet their economic needs.

They demanded that a special development plan be made to boost the economic activities in their villages.

They say because of centuries old socio-economic conditions, lack of basic necessities and their bare survival depending on only fishing sector, they are forced to live in abject poverty.

The community leaders complained that most of villages were without drinking water, electricity facilities and health and education facilities.

An elderly fisherman admitted that over fishing by local and foreign trawlers had ruined the coastal economy and brought miseries to small fishermen.

According to him, the unregulated fishing by the mechanised trawlers in the coast of Sindh had not only wiped out fish species, but these had also deprived small fishermen from their livelihood.

Despite repeated protests, the government did nothing to stop the harmful practice which is still continuing.

The fishermen were of the view that time had come that the government should act promptly in the interest of fisheries sector and fishermen communities by putting a complete ban on fishing by mechanised trawlers in the coast of Sindh.

At the same time, they maintained that emphasis be laid on the development side by launching income-generating projects as presently livelihood of fishermen merely depended on fishing only and they had no other option, but to suffer economically because of decline in fish products due to multiple reasons.

They claimed there a major decrease had been noted in the fish species for the past few years due to mechanized fishing introduced by foreign trawlers. As result, a number of fish species being in abundance in the past, have now completely become extinct.

This situation had further aggravated the economic difficulties of small fishermen who are forced to live in abject poverty.

A survey shows that each fishermen family has an average of 8 to 12 children. Due to lack of alternatives means of income, these youngsters have been forced to find their livelihood from the common resources of sea, being exploited by their forefathers.

A study reveals that before the construction of dams and barrages, the discharge from the Indus river was large enough to push back the ocean currents up to over a hundred miles from the shore.

Fishing was a minor activity in the past. However, with the reduction in fresh water flow, major ecological changes took place as a result of the sea moving into the delta channels.

With the disappearance of fresh river water, agriculture in the coastal belt has became no longer possible.

These changes have forced the agricultural communities to shift their livelihoods to fisheries.

At present, all the communities who were previously engaged in the agriculture and livestock grazing have completely shifted their livelihoods towards the fisheries, resulting in greater pressure on this only sector in the coastal regions of Sindh.

Considering these factors, the community leaders have called upon the government to prepare a development plan for the coastal area of Sindh to enable the fishermen communities to find alternative means of income.