CHITRAL: Lower Chitral district fisheries officer Shakeel Ahmad announced that the fisheries department will continue cracking down on illegal fishing in rivers and streams of the district in order to protect breeding grounds and increase the fish population.
He told reporters that the fisheries department issues licences under the law for fishing both indigenous and non-indigenous species, thereby ensuring the activity remains legal, regulated, and environmentally sustainable.
He explained that the department grants seasonal licences only for native (non-trout) fish and keeps them valid for the entire fishing season, excluding the breeding period. He stated that the department issues daily licences exclusively for trout fishing, keeps them valid from 9am to 5pm, and restricts them to a fixed catch limit.
Anglers can use these daily licences only in Golen Gol and Garm Chashma, he added.
“Anglers may fish only by rod-and-line methods in the rivers and streams of these two areas. To prevent overfishing, the department fixes the number of fish per licence. The department’s watchers and field staff monitor compliance and issue challans to violators under the law,” Mr Ahmad said.
He recalled that the government established the fisheries department in Chitral in 1961 to conserve fish as a natural resource, replenish fish stocks in natural water bodies, and strengthen private fish farming. The department also runs rehabilitation and training programmes and provides trout seeds to farmers at subsidised rates to promote aquaculture in the region.
Story source dawn.com