Fishermen in Pakistan are more worried now than before about the soaring marine pollution, which has brought about a mass migration of different edible species off the city’s shorelines, and amongst them Indian Mackerel is a prominent one.
“The level of dirt spilling from shoreline located factories and residential areas has increased pollution of the sea, which resulted in exodus of fish, shrimp and crabs from coast to deeper waters,” said local fishermen of Keamari on Saturday.
They said the untreated water continued to spill into the sea unchecked and blamed the environment department for the chaos causing pollution to the marine life.
Showing concerns, they said the unabated pollution would ultimately make some of the key edible species extinct, if the government did not chalk out a plan to scale down the sea contamination.
Exporters also believe the sea contamination has endangered Indian Mackerel, which despite big global appeal could not be exported for its lowest catch of the winter season.
The deadly chemicals, they hold responsible for the migration of species, which industries emit into the Arabian Sea.
Chairman Pakistan Fisheries Exporters Association (Pakfea) M. Faisal Iftikhar earlier told Business Recorder the catch of Indian Mackerel had reduced by a critical level and the fishermen landed the lowest catch during the current cold season.
According to him, marine life is in peril towards extinction, which the sea had begun to manifest through the present critical decline in the raw material arrival.
“The affects from the decline of seafood key species including Pomfret, Red Snappers, Indian Mackerel and Kiddi shrimp,” he added.
He said Indian Mackerel the local exporters would export them in huge volume about 4,000 containers a year which now had reduced to some hundreds.
“Indian Mackerel used to be considered one of the key exporting species to Far Eastern nations but not now,” he said.
Business Recorder, 2012