On Thursday, the Senate Standing Committee on Maritime Affairs expresseddeep concern about the unlawful activities of foreign trawlers engaged inillegal fishing. They specifically pointed out the smuggling of goodsvalued at $2 billion. Chaired by Senator Rubina Khalid, the committee, inits meeting, discussed the issue of unauthorized fishing by foreigntrawlers, particularly those from China.
Senators Danesh Kumar and Muhammad Akram strongly objected to this unlawfulbehavior, highlighting the illegal transport of fishing products worth $2billion. Officials from the ministry confirmed that fishing by foreigntrawlers had been prohibited in accordance with the 2021 regulations.
The caretaker minister assured that a thorough investigation into thematter will take place and underlined a zero-tolerance stance on illegalfishing in Balochistan and Sindh. The committee members collectively agreedto conduct a more comprehensive examination of this issue in the upcomingcommittee meeting in Karachi.
Furthermore, the committee addressed the issue of outstanding rentalcharges owed by the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) to the Gwadar Port Authority(GPA), as well as the return of a tugboat to the GPA. Ministry officialsinformed the committee that a meeting between the KPT Chairman and GPA onJuly 13th resulted in an agreement to resolve this matter.
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Additionally, the committee discussed the issuance of licenses and permitsby the ministry, its affiliated entities, and organizations to variousstakeholders, including investors, shipping lines, importers, exporters,and fishermen.