With the arrival of new season fishermen begin unmooring their boats to sail off the harbour for deep-sea hunt but feared the fresh voyage after a month halt may not help get bigger catch. They urged the government to abrogate the law banning fishing in June and July every year, saying there is a need for new code according to the changing weather system of the seas.
“The sea currents now began ebbing while in the ban period it was so strong to help bring up the huge fish and shrimp on high tide at the seas,” said the president of Native Islanders Fishermen Association (Nifa), Asif Bhatti, on Saturday. He said the ban was placed during a period when there was a chance for bigger seafood crops which now should be changed for the fisheries sector. “There should be a new law, if the government really want to ban fishing for two months, in line with the changing weather pattern,” he argued.
The sea normally abounds seafood crops when there is high-tide and strong currents in waves, he claimed, saying the ebbing tide in coming months, the fish and shrimp catch will also begin sliding to seabed. “The fishermen have reservations over the ban period which was introduced without their consultations. It is a law that dispossess the fishermen of source of living whose primary incomes the fishing ensures,” he clamoured.
The annual fishing season begins every year on August 1 after a halt of shrimp and fish hunting on the sea. The government suggests the ban is placed to help different shrimp and fish species breed smoothly on the sea without being caught. The ban takes place normally during June and July every year on the Sindh coastal seawaters, bringing all fish and shrimp catch to a halt for two months. However fishermen dislike the fishing restriction, which according to them, was enforced on the Karachi-based seafarers.
During the first week of August, around 1,000 small and big fishing boats are expected to restart their hunt from different coasts of the province. Subsequently, the rest will follow them in coming weeks. Fishermen will start off their voyages maximum 15 nautical miles from the coast on the Arabian Sea and return by evening every day. However, the big sized boats go for about 20 or more days farther close to Iran maritime belt sailing through Pasni, Ormara and Gwadar waters of Balochistan.
The overcast conditions on the sea are expected to help the fishermen catch a full-net of shrimps. “There are varieties of shrimps like Kalri and Jaira which will be available in bulk in August and September, which have great appeal among the global consumers,” fishermen say.
Kiddi, a small kind of shrimp, will start appearing later in September in the sea. It remains at seabed unlike the Jaira which swims above the sea bottom. The other famous qualities are Tiger, Jumbo and Golden shrimps which the fishermen will also try to trap. Cuttlefish [Maya], Ribbon Fish [Chind], Sardine Fish [Mori], Queen Fish [Sarum], Emperor [Mulla] and Silvery Grunter [Dother] will also be available in abundance in the rough sea, which the fishermen will never let go out of meshes. However, big fish could be caught effectively with fish-line, which reaches seabed defeating the strong inner sea waves, while nets remain afloat on underneath waves.
Business Recorder, 2014