Abstract
Intertidal fishery plays an important role in the artisanal economy of the coastal communities of Balochistan. During the southwest monsoon, fishing activities in coastal and offshore waters get limited owing to intensive wave action. During this period, some fishermen of coastal areas of Balochistan resort to a specialized fishing activity in the intertidal areas along the sandy beaches which is locally known as “Gir” fishing. Present paper deals with the species composition of the fish catches during operation of “Gir” in the intertidal areas along Pasni and Gwadar coasts. A marked difference was noticed in the species composition and abundance in the two areas. Catfish juveniles (Arius spp.) seems to be dominant in Pasni area whereas in Gwadar area, juveniles of tongue sole (Cyanoglossus bilineatus) dominates the catch. Main target species i.e. shrimp and any larger food fish, if caught, are retained by the fishermen whereas remaining catch is discarded and dumped back in the sea. Sea snakes (Enhydrina schistosa and Pelamis platurus) were also observed to be caught in considerable numbers during such operations. Present paper suggests improvement and modification in the fishing operation in the intertidal areas during southwest monsoon which may help in upgrading socio-economic conditions of the coastal communities.
