As the new fishing season on Monday began but fishermen are in a grip of fears that their working conditions at seas worsen with passing year in the absence of government’s effective policy to protect the seafarers. With religious rituals and festivities, the fishermen celebrated the start of a new fishing season at the harbour, islands and coastal areas. Every year, the season begins on August 1 and span till May 31. “This year the fishing ban from June 1 to July 31 remained very effective,” fish harbour officials told Business Recorder. Besides the receding fisheries stocks, fishermen are also apprehensive about their health security since their long voyages are full of risks with unhealthy food and potable water at seas. Fishermen also lack proper medical facilities in their communities or the harbour that badly weakened their health. “Food and water available at harbour or boats are contaminated and posing health hazardous. Many fishermen are now having hepatitis and jaundice diseases,” President Sindh Trawlers Owners and Fishermen Association (Stofa), Habibullah Khan Niazi told Business Recorder. He said that the government had completely ignored the fisheries sector to develop it and help the seafarers with medical aid. He said that the fishing had become a hard profession with expensive human power and want of facilities. “There is no fisheries effective policy to help facilitate the fishermen at harbour and seas,” he said, adding that “the government has virtually abandoned this sector. Civic infrastructure is in a rundown condition with the government investments”. Hoping for a better year with fish catch, he said that the seafood landing in 2015-16 had been lowest in years. He said that country’s seafood export had also declined significantly last fiscal year and blamed the government for its indifference to the fisheries sector earning over $300 million yearly to the national exchequer. Habib Niazi complained about the attitude of different department officials, saying that “customs official take Rs 5, 000 up to Rs 20, 000 per boat as a bribe from fishermen sailing to deep sea, despite the fishermen having complete and legal documents”. He urged the government to help the fishermen and resolve their genuine issues. Regarding the fishing, he said that the fishermen would widely focus on hunting the exportable species like all kind of shrimps that were mainly exported to Middle East and Europe. Similarly, in fish species, he said that “Dothar, Ghiser, Dandhiya, Saram, Squid, Cuttlefish, Ribbon Fish, etc.” He said that the two months fishing was likely to help the fishermen find bigger fisheries yield this year since the seas were at rest from all kind of hunting. He said that the shrimp catch would continue to land till September and latter the fishermen would mainly hunt the fish species. “Boats have started sailing from today and all boats would leave the harbour by August 15,” he said. The fish harbour officials also hoped the landing of seafood would be better this year. They said that there was a greater likelihood of a bumper fisheries crop. Pakistan seafood export has fallen by $24.376 million during the last financial year to $324.859 million from $349.235 million in 2014-15. – ends.
2016 Business Recorder.