ENVIRONMENT
As temperatures soar along the 350 kilometre coast of Sindh, fishermen and their families avoid going out to the sea for their daily catch and remain idle at home.
Generally the month of May is bountiful for the communities as they can stock up but this year, the excessive surface heat has resulted in dwindled fish stocks. The heat wave has created panic among fishermen.
Senior boat captains and community people maintain that the month of May is usually perceived as a normal season of earning for them. But this year they are facing hardships to maintain their life along the seashore.
Majeed Motani, a senior boat captain, now operating his family boats along the Karachi coast, said the heat wave has disturbed marine life, and fish have moved to the bottom because of rising surface temperature of the sea. The boats are returning with low catch, they claim.
"It will have a longer impact on the marine life, and the community may suffer colossal losses in terms of declining catch in this peak season," Motani feared.
For example, he said, crew members with boats travelling out to the open sea are receiving less than Rs100 a day. Earlier they used to earn anything between Rs1,000 and Rs2,000 a day. This is a significant loss of livelihood for the fishing community. The daily share is not enough to sustain a household, he said.
Every day, small boats, carrying fuel, ice and ration worth Rs5,000 to Rs7,000 with three to five crew members, leave traditional jetties early in the morning, this season however, they have been returning with very low catch. When the catch is low, the share of each member is low too.
“The crew members have been complaining of their low share and their inability to run their domestic affairs within the meagre means,” Motani lamented. The cost of daily items has increased manifold.
Similarly, a larger boat carrying fuel, ice and ration for longer trips of many days invests Rs1,100,000 to 1,300,000. But the crew members are not getting enough returns, and at times come back home even empty handed, Motani said while explaining the comparative costs of running smaller and bigger vessels.
The impact of the heat wave is being felt in the coastal areas of Sindh, as well as by those living inland near water bodies, as the fishermen are losing their source of earning. The warming waters are killing the smaller fish. The most vulnerable are the juvenile fish that are incapable of handling the rising temperature.
There are reports of dying juvenile fish in the natural lakes in different areas due to the warming of water. Elderly fishermen explain that the phenomenon is not new and happened last year in 2015 as well during the same season. It has spread panic among the fishermen, especially the marine communities.
Information gathered from Thatta, Sujawal and Badin districts show that fishermen are facing a similar situation, and are rapidly losing their livelihoods. The temperature has been recorded at 49 degree celsius in coastal areas except in Karachi, where it is around 38 to 40 degree celsius.
Some boats are operating and moving out to the open sea daily for their routine work, while others are staying back to avoid the harsh effects of the rising temperature.
According to the fishermen activists from Keti Bunder, this season is favourable for the delicious palla that travels upstream to Kotri, Jamshoro, because the river is continuously streaming to its ultimate end of the deltaic area.
Fishermen residing along the banks of the Indus River are upset as they have not been able to catch any palla this month. They are linking it to the excessive rise in the temperature.
However, marine biology experts believe the situation is normal in the sea. "There is nothing but only panic among the people,” said Mohammad Moazzam Khan, adviser to WWF-Pakistan. Moazzam, who has also served as the director general of Marine Fisheries Department (MFD) in the past, said the temperature has not hit any extremes yet. He does agree that the rapid environmental challenges are worrying and can horribly impact marine life in the future.
To determine the actual situation and impact of the temperature variations, he suggested initiating a re-assessment of the available fish stocks. To avoid any losses, significant fisheries management interventions are must, he said.
Relying on the community perspective to understand the phenomenon may create panic, Moazzam said. He urged for a scientific approach to assess the state of affairs.
Marine fishermen link it to further hardships, as the provincial government usually imposes ban on catch for two-months, June and July during the breeding season to avoid the loss of juvenile fish. This year the seasonal ban on fishing starts from the month of Ramazan, which will impact the poor fishermen the worst.
The current situation, combined with the prospect of facing a ban starting in Ramazan, the close to three million poor fishermen fear joblessness and price hike. Their sustenance depends solely on fishing. The fishermen dependent on the provincial marine and inland water resources fear they may face even more hardships.
The government imposes ban on three shrimp species, including Jairo, Kalri and Kiddi, which have commercial value. These three species inhabit the creeks and not the open waters. Fishermen plead that the ban on fishing should be specific and allow boats to continue with their livelihood activities. Since fishermen are aware of their resources, they will not harm these banned shrimp species, it has been pointed out.
The month of May has been tough for the fishermen due to the excessive heat, low catch, very few returns, and the looming prospect of the annual fishing ban in June and July.
People who have been keeping a close eye over the issue have said that heavy fishing pressure on marine and inland waters, and adopting destructive methods has resulted in loss of fish stock, which has increased the problems of the fishermen.
The government needs to pay attention to the plight of the suffering fishermen and find a solution to keep their livelihoods intact. A compensation programme can also be initiated for those whose livelihoods are affected by the depleting resources as is done in other coastal countries.
The writer is a staff member
