KARACHI, Sept 28: Representatives of small fishermen have expressed their deep concern over the federal government’s indifferent attitude towards their plight, saying that their longstanding demand of a complete ban on deep-sea fishing through foreign ‘factory trawlers’ was falling on deaf ears.

Talking to Dawn here on Friday, they urged the federal government to reconsider its policy of allowing foreign trawlers, pointing out that these huge trawlers swept away seafood stocks by indulging in ruthless fishing.

“Their activity not only deprives thousands of small fishermen of their livelihood but also results in a disastrous effect on sea resources,” they said.

They claimed that seafood stocks had been showing a sharp and constant decline and small fishermen were starving since the deep-sea fishing was allowed.

The repeated incidents of huge stocks of dead fish emerging along the city’s coastline was enough to prove the claim that the foreign trawlers, who were disposing of these unwanted stocks into the sea, were playing havoc with the seafood resources.

“While there has been no record of the quality and quantity of stocks these foreign trawlers are taking away every day, the national exchequer is losing immensely in terms of seafood exports,” they added.