KARACHI, May 8: The livelihood of hundreds of fishermen communities in the coastal areas of Sindh, including Karachi, is in danger because of overfishing and use of soft nets, a study shows.

Representatives of the fisherfolk, at various forums, have urged the government to take early steps for the preservation of fish species to save the livelihood of fishermen living along the coastal areas.

These fishermen have been living in abject poverty because they have no alternative economic option because of the centuries-old socio-economic conditions.

There are hundreds of villages of the fisherfolk communities in the coastal areas of Karachi as well as Thatta, whose bare survival depends on the fishing sector, which is currently under tremendous pressure owing to multiple factors.

A local fisherman says that overfishing by local and foreign trawlers has ruined the coastal economy, bringing untold miseries particularly to small fishermen.

According to him, the unregulated fishing by mechanized trawlers in the coast of Sindh has not only wiped out fish species, but has also deprived small fishermen of their livelihood.

Despite repeated protests by the fishing communities of Sindh and Balochistan, the government has done nothing to stop the devastating practice.

Fishermen say that time has come that the government act promptly in the interest of the fisheries sector and to save the fishermen from further ruination and stop the current trend of overfishing.

(The local fishermen’s definition of overfishing means “to continue fishing for 24 hours without giving rest to fish.”)

In the past, there were indigenous local ethics about fishing in the community. According to these practices, fishing was done according to the sea tides and during certain fishing seasons. The centuries-old fishing methods would disallow hunting during the hatching season.

Similarly, traditional fishermen had been careful not to catch small fish — they would use nets with big mesh size, which would exclude the small fish.

Moreover, they had learnt through the generations which place to go fishing and not to disturb certain areas to ensure a regular supply of fish.

But the present fishing trends have badly disturbed the system. Driven by the urge to extract more and more monetary gains, at present fishermen resort to overfishing.

Sources claim that Sindh possesses enormous resources which are still untapped and need more mechanization and greater fleets for being properly tapped.

But the indigenous fisherfolk communities claim that there has been a major decrease in the fish species. They even claim that a number of fish species, which had been in abundance in the past, have now become extinct.

It is also learnt that one of the basic causes of overfishing is the increase in the population of indigenous fisherfolk. It can be assessed from the average number of children born to each fisherfolk family in the coastal areas.

A survey shows that each family has an average of 8 to 12 children. Due to lack of alternatives, these youngsters try to find their livelihoods from the common resources of sea, being exploited by their forefathers.

This puts pressure on the fishermen’s livelihood in the coastal areas of Sindh.

However, the major population pressure on the coastal livelihoods is exerted due to the entry of the people, belonging to other livelihood sectors, into the fisheries sector.

It is also learnt that the first diversion of the major population towards the fishing sector was recorded with a decrease in the fresh water flow in the Indus river after the commissioning of various barrages, reservoirs and dams on it.

A study reveals that before the construction of such dams and barrages, the discharge from the river was large enough to push back the ocean currents up to over a hundred miles from the shore.

It is learnt that due to this enormous quantity of fresh water and silt the river brought with it, the delta lands were believed to be the richest in the area. Agriculture was seasonal and the yields were high. Rice was the main crop and most of it was exported to the coastal regions of India and the Gulf by boat.

Fishing was then a minor activity. However, with the reduction in fresh water flow, major ecological changes took place as a result of the sea moving into the delta channels.

With the disappearance of fresh river water, agriculture in the coastal belt became no longer possible.