KARACHl: The Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) has called for a global moratorium on deep sea mining on the occasion of World Oceans Day.
According to a PFF press release, while speaking at a community meeting at Keti Bunder on Monday, PFF’s Secretary General Saeed Baloch said that as representatives of indigenous fisher folk communities, smallscale and artisanal fishermen, they also join in the growing global call for an immediate moratorium on deep-sea mining on World Oceans Day.
‘As custodians of the oceans and the livelihoods they sustain, we are deeply alarmed by the escalating push to open our ocean floors to commercial mining,’ he said.
‘Deep-sea mining poses irreversible threats to marine ecosystems, fisheries, and the well-being of millions who depend on healthy oceans for food and income.
Scientific evidence shows that the extraction of minerals from the deep sea result in destroying fragile habitats, release plumes of toxic sediments, and disrupt vital ecological processes.
These impacts could last for centuries, undermining the ocean’s role in regulating the global climate and supporting biodiversity,’ he pointed out.
The meeting demanded a global moratorium on deep-sea mining; full recognition, consultation and participation of indigenous fisher folk communities, smallscale fishers and coastal communities as key ocean stakeholders in any ocean governance decision-making processes, including free prior informed consent; transparency and accountability from the Pakistan government and corporations in ocean governance negotiations relating to the deep sea.
‘We call on the Government of Pakistan, the International Seabed Authority and corporations to act responsibly and prioritise the protection of the ocean over short-term profit.
The ocean connects us all and it must not become a frontier for destruction. We stand in solidarity with Pacific Island nations, indigenous peoples, environmental advocates, and all who are defending the deep sea. The time to act is now: place an immediate moratorium on deep-sea mining.