The Cabinet has approved amendments in the deep-sea fishing policy, according to which 'buffer zone' of 8 nautical miles (from 12 to 20 nautical miles from the coastline) would provide exclusive fishing rights to small scale fishermen in the specified area, official sources told Business Recorder.
"Fishing in Zone 1 has been exclusively reserved for traditional small-scale fishermen. Medium and large vessels, or trawlers, can only operate in Zones II and III, respectively," the revised fishing policy says.
Defence Ministry, which had different views over the proposed amendments, has been directed to ensure implementation of the policy with the help of Maritime Safety Authority (MSA) and Pakistan Navy, sources added.
Sources said that Senate subcommittee on Balochistan had recommended that deep-sea fishing trawlers be allowed to fish only beyond 35 nautical miles, and that the fishing zones be measured from an established base line, rather than from the coastline.
As per provisions of prevalent policy, fishing in Zone 1 is reserved for traditional small-scale fishermen of Sindh and Balochistan provinces, while 100-250 Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) medium sized vessels are allowed to fish in Zone-II and 300-500 GRT stern trawlers/300-l000 GRT long liners for industrial fishing in Zone-III under licences issued by Minfal.
Some Cabinet members said that the policy should be implemented in letter and spirit and large trawlers/vessels should be prevented from violating the provisions of the policy, sources added.
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