Soon after offshore hunting came to a halt, a large number of fishermen began revamping and repairing their decaying boats for the next fishing season in August. Onshore activities increased after thousands of fishing vessels moored at harbour and by islands after July 1 because of annual ban on seafood hunting in the Arabian Sea. The monthly restriction has been imposed by the Sindh Government, this year too.
Shortly, the fishermen of two tiny islands of Keamari anchored their vessels, which are now being revamped on the shores. "No boat is operating on the sea," said President, Native Islander Fishermen Association (Nifa), Asif Bhatti on Tuesday. He said the islands' fishermen stopped deep-sea fish and shrimp hunting as well as inside territorial waters because of an agreement of the fisheries stakeholders to abide by the annual ban. "Since June 30, over 700 big and 120 small boats are not making voyages to hunting seafood in the sea," he said, adding that these boats are now being repaired.
The islander said the boat owners are busy in repairing of engines and other necessary work on their boats to renew them for the coming fishing season in August. However, Bhatti showed concerns over the increasing cost of boats repair during the lean-period of the year, saying the wages of labourers and charges of mechanics have gone up significantly this time. "Labourers are short and charges of engine mechanics are higher," he said, adding that a workman is taking Rs 1,000 a day wage and a mechanic charges between Rs 15,000 and Rs 18,000 to accomplish the job.
He said the soaring cost has also troubled the owners with financial liabilities, saying the rising expenses are now a major challenge for low-earning seafarers of the islands. "There are about 50,000 people of Baba and Bhit islands who are associated with fishing," he said, adding that the ban season badly affect chances for their earning of livelihood. The President of Nifa however made it clear that the islanders will resume their fishing activities inside the country's maritime belt, if the fishermen of Ibrahim Haider, Keti Bunder or other creeks did not follow the ban in July.