Pakistan’s Arabian Sea, stretching over a thousand kilometres and sustaining more than a million livelihoods, is slipping into crisis. Another warning from WWF-Pakistan, issued ahead of World Fisheries Day, should jolt policymakers out of their long indifference. The organisation has again highlighted the structural failures that have haunted this sector for decades: unregulated fleet expansion, rampant bycatch, collapsing stocks and post-harvest losses so large that even record export volumes mask a deeper decline.
Despite seafood exports touching 216,000 tonnes this fiscal year, the sector contributes barely 0.3 per cent to GDP. Scientific assessments indicate that most of Pakistan’s commercially important stocks are fully exploited or overexploited. However, hundreds of trawlers continue to operate close to shore in defiance of both Sindh and federal rules. A recent federal notification prohibits the intentional “take” of marine mammals in commercial fisheries, yet enforcement remains weak and bycatch of turtles, dolphins and other vulnerable species continues at ecologically damaging levels, undermining both biodiversity and future earning potential for coastal communities.
As the science grows more alarming, policymaking continues to move in circles. The federal government’s decade-long fisheries plan, announced last month, contains familiar language about climate adaptation and social inclusion, offering little that would address the two issues central to recovery: reducing the chronic overcapacity of the fleet and improving handling practices on multiday vessels. Reforms that have succeeded in other coastal states (shrinking fleets to ecological limits, strengthening cold chains, diversifying export products and initiating exploratory fishing for underutilised species) remain largely absent in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the country has taken tentative steps in ocean protection. Astola and Churna were designated as marine protected areas in recent years, and the government has now added Miani Hor as the third such zone. All three together cover only 542 square kilometres, a mere 0.23 per cent of Pakistan’s marine jurisdiction, and management capacity is minimal; the result is that these areas function more on paper than in practice, with illegal trawlers frequently entering waters that should be safeguarded.
The human cost of neglect is already visible across the Indus delta, where sea intrusion has swallowed millions of acres, forcing fishing and farming families to migrate inland. Domestic fish consumption remains around 2 kg per capita, far below the global average, reflecting poverty but also the near-destruction of artisanal fisheries. Whether in Gwadar or Rehri Goth, small boats now return with empty nets while officials debate licensing regimes that overwhelmingly favour industrial operators.
Marine conservation cannot remain a peripheral cause. Similarly, the Arabian Sea is not an afterthought; it is a pillar of food security, export potential and climate resilience. Without decisive action–grounded in science, equity and enforcement–the country risks losing not only its fisheries but its coastal future. *