KARACHI: Uncontrolled fishing fleets, high bycatch and large-scale post-harvest losses are putting Pakistan’s Arabian Sea biodiversity at growing risk, WWF-Pakistan warned on Thursday ahead of World Fisheries Day, calling for urgent reforms to protect coastal ecosystems and the livelihoods that depend on them.
World Fisheries Day, observed globally on Nov. 21, highlights the mounting pressures facing marine environments, including declining stocks, habitat damage, pollution and climate-driven changes. Pakistan’s 1,001-kilometer coastline along the Arabian Sea sustains more than a million people, but conservationists say many coastal and offshore fish stocks are now overexploited, reflected in stagnating or declining landings.
WWF-Pakistan said high bycatch of endangered species such as cetaceans, turtles and other megafauna, combined with an unregulated expansion of the fishing fleet, is placing unprecedented pressure on marine biodiversity. It added that Pakistan’s fisheries sector is hampered by major post-harvest losses due to inadequate on-board handling and storage practices.
“World Fisheries Day reminds us of the urgent need to protect our natural habitats and the diverse fauna and flora that are under serious threat due to unsustainable practices and the uncontrolled increase in the fishing fleet,” said Muhammad Moazzam Khan, Technical Adviser at WWF-Pakistan.
