Amina Shahzadi, Green Blogger
World Fisheries day is celebrated every
year on November 21 throughout the world by the fisher folk communities.
Fishing communities worldwide celebrate this day through rallies, workshops,
public meetings, cultural programs, dramas, exhibition, music show, and
demonstrations to highlight the importance of maintaining the world's
fisheries. A recent United Nations study reported that more than two-thirds of
the world's fisheries have been overfished or are fully harvested and more than
one third are in a state of decline because of factors such as the loss of
essential fish habitats, pollution, and global warming.
The World Fisheries Day helps in
highlighting the critical importance to human lives, of water and the lives it
sustains, both in and out of water. Water forms a continuum, whether contained
in rivers, lakes, and ocean. Fish forms an important part of the diets of
people around the world, particularly those that live near rivers, coasts and
other water bodies. A number of traditional societies and communities are
rallied around the occupation of fishing. This is why a majority of human
settlements, whether small villages or mega cities, are situated in close
proximity to water bodies. Besides the importance of water for survival and as
a means of transportation, it is also an important source of fish and aquatic
protein.
But this proximity has also lead to severe
ocean and coastal pollution from run-off and from domestic and industrial
activities carried out near-by. This has led to depletion of fish stocks in the
immediate vicinity, requiring fishermen to fish farther and farther away from
their traditional grounds. Besides, overfishing and mechanization has also
resulted in a crisis - fish sticks are being depleted through 'factory'
vessels, bottom trawling, and other means of unsustainable fishing methods. Unless
we address these issues collectively, the crisis will deepen. The World
Fisheries Day helps to highlight these problems, and moves towards finding solutions
to the increasingly inter-connected problems we are facing, and in the longer
term, to sustainable means of maintaining fish stocks.
Did
you know?
- Small-scale
fisheries (marine and inland) employ about 90 percent of those involved in
fisheries.
- 65 percent of
the reported catch from inland fisheries is from low-income food-deficit
countries.
- Estimates
vary, but from around 30 million to over 60 million people in the
developing world are involved in inland fisheries; it is thought that
about 50 percent are women.
- More than 25%
of the world’s dietary protein is provided by fish.
- The human
population consumes over 100 million tons of fish annually
- According to
the latest estimates, the total area covered by fish ponds across all
provinces is about 60 470 ha, with Sindh having 49 170 ha,
Punjab 10 500 ha, NWFP 560 ha and the other provinces (Balochistan,
Azad Jammu Kashmir [AJK] and Northern Area [NA]) 240 ha.1.2Human resources.
- About
13 000 fish farms have so far been established across Pakistan, the
size of these farms varies considerably, however, the average farm size
ranges form 5-10 ha. No direct data on the number of fish farmers employed
in this sector is available as fish farming in most parts of the country
is carried out as an integral part of crop farming.
- According to
a best estimate, about 50 000 people are either directly or
indirectly employed in the sector.
Aquaculture began in Pakistan as a
small-scale side line of crop farmers, however, with the emergence of fish
hatcheries operated by the public sector, there is a movement towards larger
fish farms particularly with the entry of business men into this sector. This
effect, however, is area specific and confined to areas close to big cities
such as Lahore and Multan as well as in Sindh where people have large land
holdings, the management of large water bodies and the construction of large
farms are now common here.
In Pakistan, the participation of women in
fisheries is common among the fishing communities but among fish farmer’s women
usually do not participate in the business when it is an independent company.
However, women are engaged in aquaculture activities when it is part of a
family enterprise and help is required in feeding, planting grasses in the
ponds and guarding the ponds when the farm is close to the house.
About one-third of the fishing ground
resources are on the verge of complete depletion as they have been used more
than their capacities. This has led to an alarming call to stop over conducting
fishing activities and to bring a transformation in the industry. Replenishment
of lives into these sources to enrich them once gain is a pending task. Water
bodies need to be cared for, they should be kept clean and tidy, and human
activities close to fishing grounds should be well maintained. Fishing is not a
modern-day profession. It’s an ancient practice and people put in a lot of
sweat and hard work to harvest fish from seas and oceans.
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