Abstract
The shrimp forms most important fishery in Pakistan because of its high foreign exchange earnings and also the employment, which it generates. Commercial shrimp trawling started in 1958, thereafter, the trawler fleet rapidly expanded with actual in operation of 300 to 450 vessels in 1970, 897 in 1980, and 1,730 in 1990 to 2,343 in 1999. This fleet is almost entirely based in the Karachi Fish Harbour and is considered the land of shrimp catches; the annual total shrimp landing rose steadily and has been fluctuating between 25,000 and 30,000 metric tons since 1980. In order to provide a realistic management advice based on up-to-date assessment, Marine Fisheries Department in collaboration with FAO has set up a stratified data collection system at Karachi fish harbour. In 1983 the Government announced a ban on shrimp fishing for the month of June & July of that year. A closed season by itself would not correct the adverse conditions of shrimp stocks due to over-fishing which is caused by very large size of fleet. The period of June-July, which had been promulgated under the law is differing from the suggestion of a closure in May-June made by the scientists, but still there is some dispute regarding the closed season; therefore in the present study, an attempt is made to review; why the closed season was imposed? “Is it necessary?”
