Karachi: A project aimed at promoting sustainable fishing practices and providing livelihood opportunities to fishing communities was launched at a local hotel on Thursday .

Titled ‘Sustainable fishing entrepreneurship – a citizen based approach to saving Pakistan’s unique marine environment’, the project is being launched in three coastal areas of Karachi under a partnership between the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) and the Engro Corporation Ltd.

The purpose of the two-and-a-half-year-long project is to provide an alternative livelihood to fishing communities to minimise pressure on marine resources as well as build up their capacity to reduce post-harvest losses, by-catch and overfishing.

The project areas are Kakapir, Ibrahim Hyderi and Rehri Goth.

Highlighting the poor practices which have led to a drastic fall in the quality and number of catch, director general WWF-P Hammad Naqi Khan said that uncontrolled increase in the size of fishing fleet had led to over-fishing and depleted marine resources.

“It is also ironic to see high post-harvest losses which occur on account of catch’s poor handling on the vessel, at the landing centre, and during its transportation. Fishing vessels by and large lack proper storage facilities,” he pointed out, adding that the project would address these issues.

Interim Head Sindh and Balochistan at the WWF-P, Ali Dehlavi said that people of the coastal areas in Pakistan were deprived of basic amenities and many families living in abject poverty desperately needed support.

“Our organisation with the support of its partners is taking the lead in providing alternative livelihood opportunities in these poverty-stricken areas. It is hoped that this project will help local communities to generate income and earn a decent livelihood,” he said.

Technical adviser on marine fisheries at the WWF-P Mohammad Moazzam Khan spoke about the organisation’s observer programme and said it attracted appreciation at the international level.

“It is for the first time that concrete data on the entanglement of protected, endangered and threatened species has been collected in the gillnet fisheries (under this programme).

“Many regional countries including Iran, Oman and Sri Lanka are opting to replicate this initiative after seeing its success in Pakistan,” he said.

Apart from collecting information on marine species’ entanglement, WWF-P trained observers, he pointed out, had safely released many significant marine animals including sharks, whale sharks, mobulid, sunfish, dolphins and turtles.

“Under the same programme, fishermen are releasing over 30,000 marine turtles every year since its inception in 2012,” he said.

President Engro Corporation Khalid Siraj Subhani expressed his pleasure over entering into a partnership to explore sustainable environmental solutions and address the need for community development and well-being.

“We believe in the cause of inclusive business, a service that benefits low-income communities. Promoting the growth of communities is an integral part of our business philosophy,” he noted.

The programme is aimed at providing communities with equal access to choices, opportunities and the ability to exercise their rights, he said.

Chief executive officer of the Engro Vopak and Terminal Limited Syed Muhammad Ali hoped that the initiative would ensure meaningful livelihood opportunities to poor communities so that they could improve their life.

The programme concluded with an award of appreciation to Shah Zameen, a fisherman trained as an observer on fishing vessels, for collecting excellent data and information on marine biodiversity.

Mr Zameen also actively took part in the rescue and safe release of a number of turtles, dolphins and whale sharks.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2016