THATTA, Dec 3: The recent promulgation of the Fisheries (Amendment) Ordinance, 2003, banning the use of harmful nets and strengthening existing legal provisions and official monitoring system, will go a long way in protecting fish varieties and rights of fishermen.

This was said by Sindh livestock and fisheries director general Dr Baz Mohammad Junejo while talking to this correspondent here on Wednesday.

Mr Junejo said the Sindh governor had made amendments to sections 2 and 21 of the Sindh Ordinance-III, through which violators would be punished, including imprisonment up to one year and a fine of Rs50,000.

He said his department was making efforts to stop the use of banned fishing nets, locally named as Boolo, Gujo and Qatra.

He, however, stressed the need for cooperation of local fishermen who had been raising their voice on the issue.

This correspondent interviewed fishermen of Jati, Shah Bunder, and Keti Bunder and two elected representatives from Thatta coastal constituencies — Dr Sassui Palijo, a People’s Party Parliamentarians MPA from Sakro Ghorabari, and Mohammad Ali Malkani, a Pakistan Muslim League-Q MNA from Jati.

They were of the view that the Sindh coast — about 350 kilometres in length from Karachi to the Indian border and the Balochistan coast and from west of Karachi to the Iranian border (700 kilometres) —, its waters, creeks, ponds and hatcheries and productivity were affected owing to the use of harmful nets.

They claimed that those using the banned nets were doing their business under the patronage of smugglers and sea pirates. They said these vested interests also paid illegal gratification to officials concerned so that they could continue the use of the banned nets.

Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum chairman Syed Mohammad Ali Shah regretted that sources of food and nutrition were shrinking due to the negligence of the officials concerned and ill planning of the authorities in Sindh.

He said millions of people of the country had fisheries as their livelihood but they now were facing a threat of depletion of the resources.

Mr Shah maintained that our fish stocks were decreasing rapidly for the last many years. He said according to estimates, 70 to 80 per cent decline had occurred in the fisheries resources of the country.

Deep sea fishing by foreign trawlers, non-release of sweet water at Indus downstream, ruination of fish and shrimp hatcheries due to reduction in mangrove forests, use of harmful fishing nets and disposal of effluent of urban areas and agriculture drainage projects in the sea were the reasons behind the devastation of the fisheries business, he added.

He observed that more than 2,500 cusecs of the Left Bank Outfall Drain effluent, containing poisonous pesticide residues, 300 million gallons of sewerage of Karachi and about 37,000 tons of industrial waste were disposed of at the Indus delta daily.

However, Mr Shah said the situation could be controlled to some extent if the ordinance was implemented in letter and spirit.

PROJECT: Senator Nisar Memon launched a project titled “Water and Sanitation for1 Health and Environment” in Keti Bunder the other day. The project would be executed by the Aga Khan Planning and Building Service Pakistan, with the financial assistance of the UNDP.