Sindh Fisheries Department jointly with Fishermen Co-operative Society (FCS) burnt some 35 banned fishing nets on Tuesday. The use of bullo, gujjo and katra nets are completely banned in Sindh's territorial waters under the Sindh Fisheries Ordinance of 1980, said Sindh Fisheries Minister Zahid Ali Bhurgari before burning the confiscated nets at a ceremony held at FCS.
He warned the fishermen, who largely rely on illegal nets, that the use of such nets will eliminate the existing stocks of marine life and make the sea completely empty. He added that the increasing use of these nets has already depleted the seafood stocks in the province's seawaters at large.
Under the ordinance, he said, the violator is given six months imprisonment, whereas the nets are forfeited. He added that the price of each net was Rs 0.3 million, while the government continues to discourage their use with rigorous measures of their confiscation and subsequently burning them to ashes.
The minister pointed out that there are about 75 more seized illegal nets in the government's custody, but their burning is pending because the nets' owners have taken the case to the courts. With the courts' orders, they will also be burnt, he added. Administrator FCS, Muhammad Jaffer Khawaja urged the fishermen not to use such illegal nets because they damage the national interest.
Comments
Comments are closed.