20000412

Fishing boats,

trawlers may

soon have

tracking devices

KARACHI: Provincial Minister for Fisheries and Livestock, Iftikhar Soomro has ordered the installation of monitoring devices in all local fishing boats and trawlers, providing them necessary navigational facility to ensure that they remain within Pakistani territorial waters.

This he said while attending a briefing by Marie M Ali, CEO of Trakker, a navigational device manufacturing company at Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) here on Tuesday.

The minister said that modern technology is the need of the hour and these devices should be installed in Pakistani fishing boats and trawlers.

Soomro said this will help fishermen find their way and would remain within Pakistani territorial waters and avoid entry to "no go areas".

He directed KFHA chairman Commodore Syed Tayyab Naqvi to study the benefits of monitoring devices and prepare feasibility for the implementation of this project.

Commodore Naqvi informed the meeting that the monitoring devices will also point out the presence of foreign trawlers within Pakistani limits.

Marie told the minister that very soon her company representatives will visit Karachi Fish Harbour to ensure that these instruments are installed in every boat and trawler.ÑAPP