KARACHI, Feb 7: The elected directors of the Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS) have stressed the need for holding a meeting of the board of directors of the society which was postponed thrice after the Aug 4, 2004 elections to discuss the crisis in the fisheries sector.

Haji Mohammad Yunis, a senior FCS director said that the society could not run smoothly in the absence of a legally constituted functional board with elected chairman and vice-chairman.

Talking to newsmen at his office at Karachi Fish Harbour on Tuesday morning, the FCS director said that we had repeatedly urged the authorities concerned of the Sindh government to call the postponed meeting of the board. But no heed was paid to our repeated requests, he regretted.

As a result, he pointed out that the problems in the fisheries sector had been multiplying with each passing day.

In this regard, Mr Yunis particularly referred to the ongoing protest of the small fishermen who had stopped their fishing trips due to high diesel prices.

Besides that he said there was a decline in fish catch due to the activity of foreign trawlers in the fishing zone of small boat owners.

Mr Yunis also criticized the Sindh government for not implementing the laws on prohibited nets in the creeks which were destroying fish species.

Moreover, the FCS director said the operation of foreign trawlers swept away our seafood resources.

All these issues are debateable and can be resolved if elected directors are allowed to play their role, he said.

Considering the present situation, we have now decided to take up issues with the managing committee to discuss various legal aspects of calling the meeting of the board of directors, the FCS director added.

Also present on the occasion were Irsalan Khan Niazi and Sarwar Siddiqui, who apprised newsmen about the problems of boat owners and fishermen.

They said the boat owners and fishermen were forced to adopt the course of agitation because they could not afford the costly fishing trips.

They urged the government to provide subsidized diesel to the boat owners as was practiced in the neighbouring countries.