Fishermen return to the sea after ban lifted
KARACHI: Acting as human tugboats, there were fishermen happily helping out by pushing boat after boat standing in queue towards the open sea at the Fisheries Harbour here on Saturday. The work was tiring but heading out to sea for fishing after two months they all seemed extra energised.
“There was the annual ban on fishing from June 1 to July 31, which was lifted on August 1 and everyone is glad to be back at work,” said Mansoor Ahmed Ghaznavi, assistant director, Fisheries Harbour Authority. “We have been seeing off hundreds of fishing boats in the last two days since the lifting of the ban,” he added.
The boats were all nice and clean as well as well-stocked with enough rations for two months for the crew. “They are usually out in the sea for 15-day fishing expeditions but they stock up for more in case of emergencies. Since the boats have good insulation and huge freezers for storing the catch they also take with them enough ice to keep the catch fresh,” he said as the boats still in the queue were being loaded up with food and ice.
“Still, around this time there are pleasant surprises in store too. The boats return sooner than the fishermen are expecting themselves as they find plenty of catch nearby. So they don’t need to travel too far,” he added.
“The two months when fishing is banned are a difficult time for fishermen. Their entire livelihood depends on fishing,” said Mohammad Sulaiman, an old fisherman who also owns two fishing boats now.
“Though we clean up our storage areas and mend our nets along with checking the boats’ other equipment for any needed repairs after every fishing expedition, I particularly make use of this time to service my boats and get their engines overhauled,” he said.