KARACHI, Sept 13: The Vice Chancellor of University of Karachi, Dr Pirzada Qasim Raza Siddiqui, on Wednesday called upon the government to constitute an independent “fishing control authority” with full powers vested in it to protect country's fishing industry from collapsing.

Speaking at the inaugural session of a seminar on “Shrimp Fisheries of Pakistan” organized by Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, University of Karachi, here at a local hotel, he said over-fishing, use of prohibited nets and other illegal practices were resulting in extermination of shrimp and fish in our territorial waters.

He said these illegal practices would soon deprive people of high quality shrimps, fish and other sea food items unless a comprehensive strategy is designed and implemented with letter and spirit and added collaborative efforts by the government, industry and academicians were required to protect Pakistani marine resources.

Dr Pirzada Qasim said a well-organized “Sea Mafia” engaged in over-fishing in the deep sea was causing irreparable loss to Pakistan's economy and depriving it of valuable foreign exchange as well as thousands of persons associated with fishing industry.

He opined that events like seminar held by the Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology could prove to be highly effective in sorting out problems and their possible solutions by following short and long term recommendations of the experts.

Director-General of fisheries Dr Moazzam Ali Khan said implementation on national development programme was inevitable to protect known species of shrimps, like Jaira, Kalri and Kiddi, as many common species in the Arabia Sea were currently at the verge of extinction.

He said existing fish and shrimp resources were a major source of earning foreign exchange for the country but owing to a variety of problems, including lack of well-equipped big fishing trawlers, it could not be achieved and added that his department was trying best to resolve these issues.

“However, there is an immense need for a separate fishing control authority so that fishing could not be carried out in the breeding season,” he said, adding it would also help in removal of trash material from sea, environmental pollution and end of over-fishing.

Director, Centre of Excellence in Marine Biology, Javed Mustaqeem, Dean Science KU Dr Shaikh Ijaz Rasool and Dr Naureen Aziz also spoke while experts presented their papers in technical sessions.—PPI