VZCZCXRO3332
RR RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHKP #0136/01 1080659
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 180659Z APR 09
FM AMCONSUL KARACHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1039
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0496
INFO RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0268
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1858
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0087
RUEHLH/AMCONSUL LAHORE 2717
RUEHPW/AMCONSUL PESHAWAR 4600
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RHMFIUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

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 
------- 
 
¶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 
 
KARACHI 00000136  002 OF 002 
 
 
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