Today, Gwadar, and particularly its port, is known as the gateway to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is therefore an important city for both China and Pakistan.
This new interest from Beijing and Islamabad changed what was a little-known fishing village in Balochistan to an emerging port city. While a lot has changed for the better for Gwadar’s residents, many basic issues still remain unaddressed, like water and power supply, proper healthcare, and so on.
One of the biggest issues of all, not just in Gwadar but in the rest of the coastal belt of Balochistan, is illegal fishing. For decades illegal fishing has made life hard for those relying on the fisheries economy and ocean as the main source of food. This includes almost the entire coastal population.
“Illegal fishing has a long history in this coastal belt and over the years the issue has become more and more sensitive. We are not sure who owns the trawlers that come from Sindh and sometimes internationally, but one thing we know is that they are a very powerful mafia with complete political support,” explained a fishermen’s activist from Jiwani.
For the fishing community and those indirectly related to the fisheries economy, illegal fishing is part of their everyday experience. But anyone who has lived here is aware of the issue. Growing up, the first time I heard the word “trawlering” was in 2003, via a locally shot short film. Though the story revolved around a domestic problem between a couple, the socioeconomic background in the film was mainly rooted in the fishing community. This shows how old the issue is.