KARACHI, Dec 21: Deep-sea trawlers are operating according to the relevant laws of the country and ever since the revival of this sector five months ago, not a single case of violation has been reported by any agency, according to Kamran Hameed, a spokesman for deep-sea trawlers. He said to Dawn that there were a number of government agencies engaged to monitor the activities of deep-sea trawlers in the country and a tracking system had also been introduced to specially observe the operation area of deep-sea trawlers.

He said that the areas of operation were very much clear to small fishermen and deep-sea trawlers and there was no conflict on that, as wooden boats could not operate beyond 12 nautical miles.

When it was pointed out that there had been a drastic decline in the fish catch ever since the resumption of deep-sea trawlers’ operation, Mr Kamran said the fall in the fish catch had nothing to do with deep-sea trawlers. He argued that it was due to a natural cycle; every three or four years a decline in the fish catch was observed because of the “changes that occur in the seawater because of natural reasons.” He said that there were other factors contributing to the destruction of fish species, particularly in the coast of Sindh. He said that municipal and industrial waste was polluting our seawater and millions of tones of untreated waste were being channelled into the Arabian Sea. He stressed the need to set up treatment plants to save our coastal resources from further degradation.

Mr Kamran regretted that a systematic campaign had been launched against the deep-sea fishing sector which was playing an important role in the development of the fisheries. He said that no illegal activity by deep-sea trawlers had been reported by any government agency during the past five months despite the fact that a latest tracking system had been introduced by the government to check any illegal activity.

He said that concerted efforts were needed to better the lot of common fishermen who were victimized by moneylenders and big businessman.