KARACHI: Local fishing companies are urging the government to revisit the existing fishing policy or come up with a new one as soon as possible to save marine resources and get rid of low-quality imports.

They allege that marine resources are under threat because of irresponsible practices of local trawlers and the fact that foreign trawlers are using Pakistani quota given by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), an intergovernmental organisation that co-ordinates the regulation and management of tuna in the ocean.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has already directed the Ministry of Ports and Shipping to amend the fishing policy or introduce a new one to meet the present-day challenges, official sources said.

A new fishing policy is also believed to help better exploit the fishing resources of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which has been recently extended from 200 to 350 nautical miles, sources said.

The ports ministry has also been advised to induct private-sector directors in the board of fish harbours to improve their working and financial health. This measure is also believed to ensure that the amended or new fishing policy would be implemented in full. The current policy was introduced in 2009.

“It’s unfortunate that despite having long coast line, the EEZ and quota given by the IOTC for fishing in international waters, Pakistan is importing low-quality fish valuing around $60-80 million on average from Vietnam alone,” observed Asad Gill, owner of Cosmic Transportation and Chartering Network Ltd, a private-sector fishing company.

He said the country’s marine resources have been depleted despite the fact that no foreign trawler has been allowed fishing in the EEZ for the last 10 years. “This speaks for itself that local fishing trawlers are widely using illegal nets, such as gillnet gears.”

Altaf Abdul Aziz of Oasis Enterprises, another private-sector fishing company, said there was a need to introduce responsible fishing code of conducts as soon as possible.

He also asked the government to control unbridled fishing by local trawlers. “The number of these trawlers may be reduced or their activities should be changed to keep fish resources at sustainable level,” he added.

However, all this was only possible if proper policy frame was at place and technical people were appointed, particularly at Mercantile Marine Department of the ports ministry, he said.

“How can the fishing sector prosper if the post of fisheries development commissioner, who is the focal person and must have a technical know-how in the ports ministry, has been filled by non-technical officers for the last five years on an ad-hoc basis?” he wondered.

Moreover, the Ministry of Ports and Shipping is not issuing deep-sea fishing licences to foreign trawlers for fishing in EEZ. Mr Gill of Cosmic Transportation said that six Chinese trawlers have been anchored at the Korangi Fisheries Harbour since December 2015.

Above all, the board of directors of Korangi Fisheries Harbour Authority could not be constituted even after four years. The authority was specifically built for deep-sea fishing and has all the facilities to meet its requirements, he maintained.

Published in Dawn September 25th, 2016