SINDH - MARINE LIFE ALONG PAKISTAN'S COAST IN JEOPARDY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KARACHI 000136

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: EFIS SENV EIND PGOV ECON PK
SUBJECT: SINDH - MARINE LIFE ALONG PAKISTAN'S COAST IN JEOPARDY

SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) Industry and government officials are concerned over the
state of Pakistan's marine life, an issue that could affect the
livelihoods of thousands along the country's coast. They claim that
the fisheries are threatened by increased toxic waste, illegal
fishing, mangrove deforestation, and lax government regulation. In
2007, the European Union (EU) banned exports of seafood from
Pakistan because of the poor conditions under which fish and prawn
were being caught, landed and processed. An official at the Marine
Fisheries Department (MFD) told Post that his organization plans to
begin a two-year marine life assessment in April to determine the
actual status of the country's fisheries.

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FISHERIES AND MARINE STOCKS THREATENED
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2. (SBU) Moazam Ali Khan, Director of Research and Planning at the
Marine Fisheries Department (MFD),recently told ESTHOff that
overfishing, use of harmful nets, environmental degradation and
ineffective federal fishing policies have caused depletion of
fisheries along coastal Sindh and Balochistan. Khan estimated that
marine fishery resources have declined by more than forty percent
over the last several years, and warned of a collapse in the next
six to ten years if the GOP does not take remedial measures soon.
He noted that the discharge of toxic waste from Karachi's
industries, especially textiles and tanneries, has diminished marine
stocks. According to MFD estimates, Karachi alone is responsible
for the daily discharge of over 300 million gallons of untreated
industrial and municipal waste into the Arabian Sea.


3. (SBU) Khan said his department plans to initiate a two-year, USD
6.19 million marine life survey in April, the first since 1986, to
assess the status of the country's fisheries. The GOP will fund the
project while the UN's Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) will
provide technical assistance.

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USG ASSISTANCE
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4. (SBU) The USAID-sponsored Competitive Support Fund (CSF) has
been engaged with the GOP and the Government of Sindh to upgrade the
Karachi Fish Harbor in an effort to get the EU to remove the ban on
seafood exports from Pakistan. The EU had originally banned seafood
exports from Pakistan in 2007 due to poor fish/prawn catching
conditions. In 2008, CSF prepared a "roadmap" to restructure the
Karachi Fish Harbor which included adding hazard analysis and
critical control points (HAACP) and modernizing fishing vessels to
meet international standards. Officials at CSF expect the project
to result eventually in an improvement in the quality of fish being
caught.

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ILLEGAL FISHING PROBLEMATIC
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5. (SBU) Balochistan Director of Fisheries Mohammad Noor Khan cited
illegal use of wire and trawl nets by Sindh-based fishing boats as
the main concern of Baloch fishermen. Provincial law prohibits
non-Balochistan based fishing fleets from using the province's
coastal waters, which are delineated up to 12 nautical miles from
the coast. Khan called for a doubling of this protected area. He
pointed out that over 70 percent of the coastal region of Pakistan
is in Balochistan. (Note: Vessels fishing in Balochistan's
provincial waters require a license from the Balochistan Fisheries
Directorate. End note.)

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MANGROVE DEFORESTATION ALSO HURTING MARINE LIFE
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6. (SBU) Tahir Qureshi, an official with the International Union
for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) explained that population and
industrial growth have led to the destruction of coastal mangrove

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forests which provided shelter for young fish. Forests are being
cut to provide cheap building materials, firewood and living space
to the area's increasing population. He said annual fish and shrimp
harvests have dropped dramatically as a result. Protection of the
mangrove forests is difficult, however, as it requires coordination
among several agencies. Qureshi claimed that lack of political
will, coupled with insufficient legislation, makes it difficult to
tackle the increasing mangrove deforestation issue.

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GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT LACKING
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7. (SBU) Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS) Administrator Mohammad
Jaffar Khwaja and President of Sindh Trawlers Association Sahir
Mazhar Dada agreed that a corrupt bureaucracy, ineffective
provincial government policies, and lax federal oversight of the
fishing industry are the root causes of the fishing industry's
current problems. They criticized the government's surveillance
system as weak and inefficient.

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Comment
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8. (SBU) Pollution, illegal fishing, mangrove destruction and lax
government oversight pose a grave threat to the viability of
Pakistan's fishing industry. The Baloch have long complained about
the intrusion of unregistered fishing boats from Sindh. The
competition for marine harvests will continue, as fisheries decline
along the coast, threatening the livelihoods of thousands who depend
on the industry for employment. The MFD survey, if it actually
materializes (it has already been delayed a month),could go a long
way toward assessing the actual damage to the Pakistani fishing
industry, which might spur the government to take action. But
because of the huge burdens on the GOP and provincial budgets, we
question whether measures to save the fisheries will materialize
unless the international community steps up its focus. The CSF
project represents a first step towards improving the Karachi Fish
Harbor; however, more focus needs to be given to environmental
conditions along the coast.

FAKAN