KARACHI: “Pakistan’s fish exports had reached $250 million before they fell due to our neglecting our coast,” said Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Karachi division President Dr Asim Hussain on the eve of fishermen’s return to sea after a two-month ban on fishing at the Karachi Fish Harbour here on Monday.

He was invited by the Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS) for inaugurating their new auction halls and facilities. “I happen to be a scuba diver and going underwater here I feel as if I am in a desert. There is hardly any sea life or plantation around the Karachi coast. And it is all because of pollution,” he said.

“It is mostly because of a lack of sewerage and treatment plants due to which we are dumping untreated sewerage into the sea,” he said. “Karachi was a fishing village originally but look what our neglect has done to marine life around here,” he added.

“We have requested the government to look into having treatment plants along with keeping funds aside for the relief of our poor fishermen who only work for 10 months in one year. We want to upgrade their boats. In this day and age, our fishermen are expected to find their way at sea by looking at the stars. They should have GPS systems, sonar depth finders, an evacuation system, sea ambulances,” he said. “It is part of my plan to move our fishermen into the future,” he said.

“We also need to impart training to them in civic sense so that they don’t pollute the waters or indulge in wrong fishing practices,” he added.

About the issue of fishermen arrested at sea for unintentionally crossing boundaries, he said that it was for the federal government to look into this.

Back to politics

Moving away from the main topic of discussion and while answering a few questions from the media regarding recent developments in the country’s politics, Dr Asim said that democracy and white-collar crime were separate things. “Democracy is one thing and breeching the law of the land is another thing.

The process of democracy should carry on no matter what white-collar crime comes in the way. It is not that big an issue but democracy is important.” he said.

To a question about the Sindh governor and his comments over the new political development, he said that governors are the representatives of the president. “They should keep a neutral stance,” he said.

Meanwhile, FCS chairman Hafiz Abdul Barr hoped Pakistan’s fisheries’ exports would improve in the near future. “We have a European Union delegation visiting here in September for which we are prepared. Hopefully, the ban they have imposed on our exporting of fisheries’ products to Europe would be lifted when they see the improvements we have made at the Karachi Fish Harbour,” he said.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2017