ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Ports and Shipping has taken up the issue of stealth of fish products by other countries from Pakistan maritime boundaries with Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
The illegal fishing vessels are also destroying the fish production in almost 22 creeks near Karachi and ultimate small fish which is food for precious fish products is decreasing with the passage of time and it will prove hazardous for future breeding of fish.
“MoFA has been asked to discuss the matter with friendly countries to avoid possible tension in case of strict action by Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PSMA),” said an official of the Ministry on anonymity condition here on Thursday.
According to Director General Korangi Fisheries Harbour Authority S M Tarique, millions of tonnes of fish is being stolen by several countries including Iran, India and other regional countries even South Korea from Pakistani maritime boundaries. “The most dangerous aspect of this theft is that small fish which is natural feed of precious fish is being destroyed due to illegal fishing vessels traffic in Pakistani deep sea boundaries,” he observed here in an exclusive interaction with this scribe.
“If this issue would not be handled well in time and in an appropriate manner then PSMA will definitely have to take strict action against fishing trawlers and vessels for illegal fishing in Pakistani sea which will result in tension with friendly and neighbouring countries,” he observed.In this regard, the official of Ministry of Ports and Shipping was of the view that MoFA had been asked to convince the relevant and governments concerned to take adequate measures to stop their fishing vessels from fishing Pakistani deep sea. According to PSMA Director General Rear Admiral Ather Mukhtar, the agency was fully capable of defending maritime boundaries from illegal fishermen.
It is pertinent to mention here that PSMA was established on January 1, 1987 for enforcement of national and international laws, policies and conventions at sea. Parliament passed PSMA Act in 1994 which provided the necessary legal powers to PSMA to perform its tasks.
