Hundreds of fishermen staged a sit-in outside the Gwadar police station on Tuesday , protesting a ban on beach chum fishing and demanding it be lifted immediately. They also called for a case to be registered against those who, a day earlier, stopped a catch worth lakhs of rupees from reaching local fish factories.

According to sources, the demonstrators marched in a rally from Padi Zar beach, drawing a large turnout of fishermen. The rally moved through several roads across the city before arriving at the Gwadar police station, where protesters staged a sit-in and presented their demands.

The fishermen said that when the previous day's beach chum catch was blocked from reaching the factories, they suffered financial losses running into the lakhs of rupees. They demanded that an FIR be registered without delay against those responsible for the losses and that they be held accountable under the law.

Protesters argued that beach chum fishing continues as normal in other coastal areas of Gwadar district, including Ormara, Pasni and Surbandar, and that restricting it only within Gwadar city amounts to discriminatory, unfair and illegal treatment.

They further said beach chum is an export fish with a substantial market abroad, and that hundreds of families depend on its trade for their livelihood. The ban, they said, is not only deepening fishermen's economic hardship but also inflicting serious damage on the local fisheries sector.

The protesting fishermen called on the relevant authorities to immediately lift the ban on beach chum fishing, safeguard fishermen's economic interests, and take legal action against those involved in the previous day's incident.