Fisheries is the most important economic activity in Gwadar district in which a vast majority of the population is engaged. The district has a 600 kilometres long coast line which provides the residents not only the means of income but also the food to subsist. About one fourth of the total catch in Pakistan is produced in the district.

According to the Directorate of Fisheries, the full-time fishermen population has increased from 12,963 to 16,380 over a time period of 10 years (1986-95). In 1995, part-time, occasional, and induced fishermen constituted 6.3 percent of the total population, i.e. over 50% of the male working population. The part-time and occasional fishermen do not own a boat. They are involved in agriculture or other economic activities as well or they are specie specific. These fishermen do not fish from May to September, the time of the south-west monsoon, as the sea goes wild in these months. For the induced fishermen fishing is a recreational activity. These figures only concerns people who are involved in fishing, while data about people involved in fisheries allied activities, like boat-making, net-repairing, fish trading, ice making and selling, fish drying and processing, etc., are not available. According to an estimate more than half of the population of Gwadar district is either directly or indirectly involved in fisheries.

The number of fishermen per boat depends upon the size of the fishing craft. There may be up to 20 fishermen on one boat of which one is called Nakhuda (captain). Many of the fishermen have their own boats and nets but some get boats and nets on lease from financiers for varying time periods. These financiers are either local or from Karachi. In case the boat and nets are taken on lease, the profit of the total catch is equally divided between the financier and the fishermen, otherwise all profit is divided between the fishermen. In any case profit earned by the fishermen is divided into equal shares according to the number of crew. The Nakhuda gets 4 shares, the driver gets 2 shares, and the rest of the crew gets one share each.

The fishing gear consists of nets, nylon ropes, floats, and winch. There is a wide variety of fishing nets. Nets of 17 meter length and 3 meter width, weighing about 40 kilogram, are most commonly used for fishing; however, length of nets can go up to 600 meters. Floats are fitted on every 2 metre length. Usually the nets and floats are imported from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan but some are manufactured in Karachi also. The price of nets depends upon weight instead of size of the net and ranges from 200 to 650 rupees per kilogram. The floats cost 30 to 45 rupees per piece and nylon rope costs 125 rupees per kilogram. Nylon nets are usually used for small boats and for big launch thread nets are used which are more strong and durable, and of course more expensive. The mesh size in the net depends upon the type of fish. This size is locally measured in terms of hand fingers and ranges from 2 to 5 fingers. As the net gets older it requires more repair. A net-repair labourer takes 150 rupees a day and on the average a net takes 6 days to get repaired. Women also repair the nets at their homes.

There are four different type of boats registered by the Directorate of Fisheries. Yakdar is a small boat of 5 to 11 metres keel length. These boats are built with one keel length of wood. The use of this type of boat is decreasing now. Ranchan is of the same size as Yakdar. The only difference is in the wood used in building these boats. These are built with small length wood planks which are joined with iron nails. Gill-knitters are the medium sized boats with keel length in range of 9 to 14 metres. Launch are boats with 14 to 20 metres keel length. The small sail boats are called Katti. Now fishing on Katti is decreasing and in 1995 only 23 sail boats were registered with the Directorate of Fisheries. The large boats, launch and gill-knitters, with engine fitted inside the boat are named as "mechanised boats" which have increased from 295 in 1986 to 770 in 1995. "Motorised boats" have engines fitted outside the boat. Usually Ranchins and Yakdars are used as motorised boats. The motorised boats have increased considerably, from 1713 to 2840 in a period of 10 years (1986-95). The Directorate of Fisheries charges 15 rupees per annum for Katti, 40 to 150 rupees for Ranchin, and 200 rupees for gill-knitter and launch of more than 17 metres keel length as annual registration fee. Only a few boats are equipped with compass and wireless transmission system. Due to lack of these equipment, every year 2-3 boats are lost in the open sea because they have no way to call for help.

Gwadar town is the main place where boats are made or repaired. Craftsmen here get orders from Iran to make boats as well. All types of boats are manufactured here. The keel length of boats ranges up to 35 metres. Usually a launch of 15 metre keel length takes 7 months to get manufactured. However, this period can be reduced to 5 months if electricity is provided and electrical drill and other related equipment are used. The chief craftsman gets rupees 300 to 350 a day while other boat makers get 200 to 250 rupees per day. Total cost of such a launch is about 2.5 to 3 million rupees. Only the wood costs 0.8 million rupees while engine of 5 cylinders costs about 0.75 million rupees. For boat making, Teak and Blau wood is imported from Burma and Indonesia. Manufacturing of such a boat requires at least one chief craftsmen, about 8 to 10 craftsmen, and 5 to 7 apprentices. After completion of carpentry Cod Liver oil is painted on the outer surface of the boat to make it water proof. Average life of a boat is 20 years. A newly manufactured boat is launched in sea on 1st or 15th day of the moon cycle because of high tides on these days.

The fish catch along the coast of Gwadar district is of a great variety. According to the data provided by the Directorate of Fisheries, Government of Balochistan, major specie groups of fish caught at Gwadar coast are: salmon, trout and similar species; telecostean flat fish and other marine telecostean (perch, croakers, bass); herring, sardine and similar species; tuna, true mackerel and similar species; elasmobranches (shark, skate, ray); and crustaceans. A complete list of fish caught at Makran coast is given by Nek Buzdar (1988) in his report. At present shark, tuna, cat fish, marling, dorado, and dreas vin breams are exported to Sri Lanka.

The fish catch, both in terms of quantity as well as value, has increased considerably in a period of 10 years (1986-95). According to the Directorate of Fisheries, total fish catch was 103,679 tonnes while a Norwegian survey in 1975-77 pointed out that 180,000 tonne of fish was being taken out of the Gwadar sea legally while illegal catch was about 70,000 tonnes. The total potential of fish catch according to this survey was 300,000 tonnes without jeopardising sustainability of the stock therefore there was still at least a potential of 70,000 tonnes. It means that at present the total fish catch in Gwadar is much behind the available potential.

The data provided by the Directorate of Fisheries is under-enumerated as the fish catch which is sold out to the businessmen from Karachi in the open sea is not included in this data. The Government of Pakistan has given license to Korean trawlers for fishing since 1988. Just one of these trawlers is capable of sweeping all the fish in a 3 x 12 kilometres range but no record is available about the total fish catch through these Korean trawlers. At present 150 foreign trawlers have license to fish in Pakistani waters.

The value of the fish catch has also increased markedly. However, the price of fish is highly fluctuating. Income of the fishermen vary from trip to trip. In general, those who work on large boats and spend many days at sea get a relatively good catch. But the fact is that the fishermen are not satisfied by the income they earn after much exertion. Mostly they remain under loans by financiers and fish traders. As the lenders are fish buyers, they fix the price of fish according to their wish. The fishermen have to sell their catch according to the manipulation of the big businessmen.

According to the Gwadar Fish Harbour Authority, port charges received in the last 8 months (July 1996 to February 1997) amounted to rupees 83,657 which is 1.5 percent of the value of total catch sold at the Gwadar Fish Harbour. By projecting this income for the year 1996-97, the annual income amounts to 125,486 rupees which means that the value of total fish catch sold at the Gwadar Fish Harbour will be rupees 8,365,700 in 1996-97. While comparing this figure with the value of total fish catch in Gwadar district, i.e., rupees 1,028,429,174 for the year 1995-96, it evinces that statistics provided by the Directorate of Fisheries are not beyond doubts. However, based on such statistics the per capita income for fish is calculated to be Rs. 6,390 for that year. Illegal catch, open sea sale, and fishing for subsistence; all would have to be considered in order to get reliable statistics on the total fish catch.

There are many fishing techniques ranging from fishing with line to trolling. Induced and occasional fishermen use wither line or small nets with small boats. Boats used by full-time or part-time fishermen range from Yakdar or Ranchin to Large boats. Some foreign trawlers are also allowed by the Government of Pakistan to fish in the Gwadar sea. In case small boats are being used fishing continues up to one day only. Fishermen using a big launch can stay on sea for 5 to 15 days.

The provincial government of Balochistan has banned fishing by some techniques, including trolling, fishing by wire net, ring net, encircling net, and bottom troll. Trolling is the worst fishing technique in which small fishes are crushed under the weight of big fishes. The Government of Balochistan has prohibited trolling in the area of 22.2 kilometres (12 nautical miles) in the provincial sea limits. However, often the trawlers which have license to fish get into the prohibited limits and troll out all the fish in their range. Because of this practice fishing potential for local fishermen is endangered.

Most of the fish catch is marketed to Karachi from where it is further exported to other countries like Sri Lanka, China, Hong Kong, and Korea. Sri Lanka is the major importer of Pakistani fish but businessmen are not happy over trade with Sri Lanka as they pay a relatively lower price. Fish is marketed in three ways. Some businessmen from Karachi or foreign countries buy fish in the open sea. In this way they avoid paying port charges. Secondly, most of the fish is auctioned at fish harbours like Gwadar and Pasni from where businessmen send it to Karachi and the neighbouring districts like Kech, Panjgur, and Awaran. Sometimes fish is exported directly from here to the foreign buyers. Thirdly, some proportion of the total catch is marketed locally from where local population of the district, who is not involved in fishing, buy it. Previously the people of hinterland did not like the fresh fish but now their taste has changed.

Previously the standard process for preserving fish in Gwadar was salting and drying. In 1970, the Department of Coastal Development and Fisheries established an ice factory at Pasni. The first private ice factory started production in 1976. At present there are 16 ice factories in the district of which 6 are at Gwadar, one in Sur Bandar, 2 in Jiwani, 4 in Pasni, and 3 in Ormara. The daily ice production at Gwadar is 150 cubic metre while at Pasni it is 100 cubic metres. Some Karachi based businessmen buy ice from Karachi as it is relatively expensive at Gwadar (rupees 40-50 per 40 kg). Now fresh iced fish is sent to Karachi and the buyer countries in big trawlers.

The advanced processing of fish, canning, is done in Karachi. There is a great potential for canning industry in the district provided that road links are available for marketing. At present, Pakistan is one of the 80 countries whose canned fish is banned for import in European and other developed countries, mainly because of high un-hygienic canning factories. In Gwadar district, canning industry with international standards can not only earn a big profit but also a good name to the country. Similarly poultry feed can be prepared here using various non-edible fish species.

The Department of Coastal Development and Fisheries is responsible for registration of fishing boats, issue of licenses to the fishermen, provision of training and guidance to fishermen, and vigilance on illegal fishing. The department is supervised by an Assistant Director posted at Gwadar. The department provides fishing gears to the fishermen at subsidised rates. The fisheries statistics are compiled primarily at district level by the department officials.

Both the federal as well as provincial governments are involved in coastal and fisheries development. In 1992, the Government of Pakistan completed a project of Gwadar Fish Harbour cum Mini Port at a total cost of rupees 1,077,310,605. This harbour is meant to provide fisheries related facilities like ice factories and cold storage, to provide essential facilities for a fishing port, and to improve loading and unloading facilities for commodities. At present the port has a 64.7 metre wide and 416.0 meter long jetty with an auction hall of 3000 square metre and a storage shed 960 square metres. The jetty can facilitate mooring of 3 vessels of 900-1,000 tonnes, 160 gill-knitters, and 400 small boats. There are 3 diesel powered electric generators of 750 kVA each to fulfil power requirements for the complex, proposed ice factories, and cold storage. The cargo-handling equipment includes fork lifts, mobile cranes, 10-tonne trucks, water tankers, gully emptier trucks, large weighing scales, plastic containers and trolleys, and trailers and prime movers for TEU containers. Moreover, a Cutter-Suction-Dragger of 450 cubic metre per hour capacity along with 5 auxiliary craft including Tug, Work Boat, Motor Launch, Barge, and Booster Station are also available at the harbour. But all of this machinery, except dragger, has been dumped in the auction hall. At present, 3 ice factories of 50 tonne per day capacity and one cold storage of 250 tonnes capacity are under construction at the harbour.

One fish harbour has been constructed at Pasni with assistance of the Asian Development Bank but details of the costs involved could not be obtained. There has been a proposal for construction of a deep sea port at Gwadar at a cost of 1,415 million US$. It will have 4 berths with a 2,000 metre long quay. This project also includes 3 roads, Gwadar-Karachi, Gwadar-Rattodero to Sind and Punjab and Gwadar-Quetta. The feasibility of the proposal still needs to be investigated, as the hinterland is not very densely populated.

The cost of fishing gears and boat engines is beyond affordability of most of the fishermen in Gwadar district. In 1994, the Japanese government provided a grant of 440 million Yen (¥) for in and out boat engines and fishing equipment to be distributed among the fishermen. Similarly a grant of rupees 10 million was given under the Prime Minister’s Development Program for distribution of nets.

Fisheries is the main economic activity in Gwadar district in which more than half of the work force is involved. About 15 percent of the work force is directly involved in fishing while the others are involved in fisheries related activities. Till today fishing is a family skill. The skill is transferred by the father to his son. There is a need for training on modern fishing techniques. On annual basis there is a potential for an additional catch of at least 70,000 tonnes.

Boat-making is a prospective industry of the district. The craftsmen are produced through apprenticeship. They work as contractual worker for the whole of their life but can never think of manufacturing a boat by their own capital and sell it. There is need for a co-operative bank which could provide interest free loans to these craftsmen. Similarly there is need for training and credit for women to stimulate net making and repair activities.

Fish processing if started at Gwadar can provide employment to many of the local educated unemployed youth. There is a need to attract private sector for investment by providing different incentives. If Gwadar deep sea port has been proven to be feasible, it may become a base for strategic linkages to the Central Asian States by providing them port facilities.

Back to Gwadar