KARACHI, Nov 21: The Fisher folk Mela, organized by the Pakistan Fisher folk Forum at Ibrahim Hyderi, turned out to be a mass participation extravaganza as hundreds of families living in fishing villages visited the place on Sunday.

The event was organized as part of the World Fisheries Day celebrated throughout the world on Sunday. "Thousands have visited the place and by evening we expect a big gathering and the total number of visitors to exceed 50,000," one of the organizers said.

An elaborate programme was devised by the PFF including speeches, paper presentation by community representatives, scholars, experts and government representatives on the issues of fisher folk communities, interactive theatre to highlight the issues and problems of the fisher folk communities, and a musical show to entertain the participants.

Besides, some stalls depicting cultural heritage items, published materials by different civil society organizations and sea food items were also established and attracted a large number of visitors. Display corner about fishing activities that include tools and material used in fishing practices also remained a day- long attraction.

The visitors also enjoyed fresh seafood served at different stalls. Special boat rally and sea visit for guests was also arranged by the PFF. Speaking on the occasion, fishermen, exporters of seafood and persons associated with allied businesses said that the eco- system of coastal waters of Karachi and adjoining areas of Balochistan was at the brink of disaster due to over exploitation of marine resources.

Aziz Baloch, owner of "Hora" - a local name of small-sized fishing boat, said that Churna Island had been considered the "house of fish" since ages but during the last few years, fish catch from the place dropped to a minimal level bringing economic disaster for the poor fishermen.

He blamed the wire nets and other banned nets used by foreign flag carrier trawlers as main reason for depleted catch. Churna was known for the largest number of fish species found anywhere in coastal waters of Sindh and Balochistan, he said. However, several species had become extinct or rarely seen, he said while criticizing deep sea fishing policy.

Capt (Retd) Shah, one of the big exporters of seafood items, said that the share of local fishermen in the business had seen a considerable decline due to low catch in turn affecting export of seafood items.

The bigger chunk of catch was being hauled, packed and exported directly by the foreign trawlers, he said adding that Pakistan was sustaining dual loss of marine resources and export fee/taxes etc.

The Fisher folk Forum has also expressed deep concern over the depleting resources and said that thousands of local fishermen were at the brink of starvation as the well known fishing spots were not yielding normal catch.

Suggesting the measures to replenish the depleted grounds, the experts in marine sciences advocate total ban on fishing by big vessels, strict enforcement of ban imposed on the use of illegal fishing nets and enhancement of sentences of fine in case of violations, effective collaboration of fisher folk, government agencies and scientific research organizations. -APP