UNIT 5

FISHING

INTRODUCTION:
Fishing is the activity of catching fish. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting,
angling and trapping.
The term fishing may be applied to catching other aquatic animals .The term is not normally applied to
catching aquatic mammals, such as whales, where the term whaling is more appropriate, or to farmed fish.
In addition to providing food, modern fishing is also a recreational pastime.
With a coastline of 1046 km, Pakistan is rich in fishery resources that remain to be fully developed. Almost
the entire population of the coastal areas of Sindh and Baluchistan depends on fisheries for its livelihood.
To exploit potential fishery resources, the government has undertaken such projects as construction of a
modern harbor for fishing vessels at Karachi, procurement of diesel-powered vessels, establishment of cold
storage and marketing facilities, export of frozen shrimp, and encouragement of cooperative fish-marketing
societies. An aquaculture project financed by the Asian Development Bank and the EU aimed to increase
the annual fish catch and to promote prawn farming.
KEY POINTS:

• Fishing is one of the oldest occupations for people who live near lakes, rivers and the sea.
• With the progress of civilization fishing communities started breeding fish.
• This is called fish farming or aquaculture.
• In Pakistan there are many fish farms inland using man made rectangular ponds as well as using
protected areas in rivers and lakes.
• Marine fishing now includes some modern developments in the processing and exporting of the
catch.
• Fishing industry has a share of 0.9 % in Pakistan’s GDP.

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 • Pakistan earns 6 % of its total foreign exchange earnings by exporting fish, shrimps and fish
products.
• Fishing is the main occupation in the coastal settlements of Sindh and Baluchistan.
• The total number employed in fishing is 395000. Out of which 125000 (31.6%) are engaged in
marine fishing and 270000 persons (68.4%) in inland fishing. But the marine catch is nearly three
times that of the inland catch.

Fishing Areas and Methods:

Marine Fishing:

• Pakistan has a coastline divided into Sindh (30%) and the Makran (70%) coasts.
• In Sindh Karachi is the main fishing centre.
• On the Makran coast fishing ports are small, often no more than villages like Sonmiani and Jiwani.
Gwader is the most important fishing port on this coast. Gwader besides Ormara and Pasni is being
developed as a fishing centre by providing improved facilities such as Ice factory, refrigeration
plants and modern fish curing yards.

Types of Marine Fishing:

1: Subsistence fishing:

• In subsistence fishing fisherman and his family

consume the fish they catch.
• Fish is the main component of their diet that lives
on coastal areas.
• Subsistence fishermen uses conventional
techniques like the traditional net, a small
wooden sail boat which does not travel far out to
sea.

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2:Commercial fishing:

• In commercial fishing fish is sold in the market.

• Fishing communities depend on fishing as the sole
source of their income.
• 68 % of the total marine catch is at Sindh coast.
• Sindh coast is more developed because it has numerous creeks, sheltered harbors and a wide
shallow sea beyond.
• It has a wider continental shelf (ridge) than the Makran coast.
• The Indus delta is rich in fish food much of which is brought down to the delta by the river Indus.
• It has better export and processing facilities.
• In commercial fishing the gill netters and mechanized boats have made it possible to fish 50-60km
from the coast in deep sea water.
• In Karachi the government has developed the Korangi fish harbor where storage and packing
facilities are available to fisherman.

Types of Marine Catch:

• Sharks
• Drums
• Croakers
• Cat Fish
• Skates
• Ray

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 Inland Fishing:

• Inland fishing is practiced in almost all the rivers and lakes in the country.
• The large reservoirs behind Dams, the lakes of Sindh and irrigation channels are all utilized for
fish farming.
• Dug ponds have also been made for this purpose.

Fish Farm:

• Fish farms are rectangular man made ponds for breeding of fish.
• They have a concrete or cemented impervious base to prevent water losses through leakage.
• The side of the farm is edged with solidified mud.
• Trees are planted around the fish farms to keep the water cool.

Main Fishing Center:

Manchar Lake in Dadu district.

• Kairi (Keenjhar) Lake north of Thatta.
• Haleji Lake west of Thatta.
• Reservoirs of Mangla and Terbela Dams.
• River Indus at Sukkar, Kotri and Thatta.

Types of inland fish:

• Manaseer
• Palla
• Thalla
• Rahu
• Trout

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 A – Inland fisheries (freshwater)
Study the following. B – Makran (Baluchistan) Coast
Fish
C – Indus Delta (Sindh) Coast
Group 1 – crab, lobster, prawns (jhinga), sardines,
shark
(i) In which fishing area are the fish in
Group 2 – hila, mahseer, palla, trout
group 1 caught?
Group 3 – herring, mackerel, sardines, shark
(ii) In which fishing area are the fish in
Fishing Areas
group 2 caught?

Fish Marketing:

• Pakistan has a domestic and an international market for fish, shrimps and fish products.
• At the domestic level the catch from marine fisheries is supplied to the local fish markets through
wholesale dealers.
• Karachi is the main fishing centre where street hawkers also buy some of the fish catch and provide
a door to door service.
• Frozen or processed fish is supplied to only a few large departmental stores in urban areas because
people prefer to buy fresh fish and prawns rather than the processed ones.
• However the local demand for fish is less than its catch.
• The per capita consumption is 1.6 kg p.a, which is quite low as compared to the European countries
where it is 20 kg p.a.
• About 30% of the total fish catch is exported to 30 countries of the world.
• Japan is the main market for fish and shrimps.
• USA, UK and France are other markets.
• About 80 % of the total fish catch of the Makran coast is dried for export to the Middle East.

Sustainable Fishing
• Fishing of endangered species of fish must be banned to allow stocks to recover

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 • Nets with certain size of holes be used to avoid by catch of smaller fish
• Illegal fishing must be stopped as they do not conform to rules and regulations. Like they catch
smaller and immature fish to maximize profits, unfortunately they can’t breed so stocks are
destroyed
• Quotas must be set for countries in international water

(i) In which year was the percentage of farms under 5 hectares (ha) the smallest?

What was the contribution to GNP of the fishing industry in

2010?

Suggest two reasons for this decrease.

Describe the distribution of fish farming in Pakistan.

State three ways in which the owner has improved the site
for fish farming
.

Describe the fishing methods used on a fish farm.

Prepare ponds / half fill for insects/Hatch eggs / buy smelt (small fishes) / breeding/Of single species / improved type
of/stock/(Regular) feeding (with poultry waste)/Health care / regular checks/Top up ponds / check water levels clean water

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 Transfer between ponds by size/Catch fully grown fish / fish of market size etc.

Describe activities that are involved in the secondary sector of the fishing industry.

Gutting / washing / cleaning (initial preparation of fish for other processes / ensure hygiene)/Freezing (preserve (freshness) / for
export)/Canning (preserve / for export)/Converting to fishmeal (for domestic poultry feed)/Salting (so that the fish is
preserved)/Curing (dehydrates the fish so it can last longer / preserve)/Smoking (preserves the fish and gives it a unique taste)/Storage
(of fish in refrigerators allows maximum storage time) / refrigerating (keeps the fish in its original state for eating)/Packaging (preparing
for transport / preparation for sale / protects the fish from contamination / prevents spoilage)Boat making / making nets / repairing
boats / repairing nets (preparing for the process of catching fish)/Maximum of 2 + 2 (mark + development mark)

With reference to Fig. 3, explain the advantages and disadvantages of developing the fishing industry in Pakistan.

To what extent is it possible to develop the fish processing industry further in Pakistan? Give reasons to support your answer and
refer to places or examples you have studied.
Possible
Long undeveloped coastline (1050 km / Makran Coast 750 km)
Gwadar being developed as a new port / fish harbour with modern facilities / EPZ (providing base for linkage to central Asian states)
Potential at Pasni / Jiwani / Sur Bandar / Ormara (allowing more fish to be refrigerated / preserved for transport to Karachi)
Government support (provides essential facilities for a fishing port to allow sustainability)
Compliance with EU / international quality standards (to remove import bans / embargoes)
Increase local ice factories / refrigerated storage / packing / canning facilities (to reduce need to transport to Karachi)
Training / education (could provide employment of local educated youth)
Value added products made for export (make more foreign exchange)

Not possible
Limited private sector and/or government investment / expensive to expand / contributes little to exports / focus on other
industries (meaning technology and skills are not upgraded)
Many processing plants under capacity / out of operation (showing that the future development is uncertain)
Few skilled workers
Coastline remote / poor transport links (e.g. no railway / small airports / delayed new road links)
Canning factories have been unhygienic and a cause for import bans (to EU / Saudi Arabia)
Unreliable export market (about 30% worldwide)
Low profits (6% of foreign exchange)
Foreign competition
Urban centres prefer fresh fish (so processed fish only to a few large department stores)
Per capita consumption is low (1.6 kg p.a.)

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