Pakistan’s Shark Action Plan Sets Framework for Sustainable Fisheries

Recently Pakistan’s first National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, covering 2025–2035, came against a backdrop of severe depletion of shark and other elasmobranch resources and persistent gaps in fisheries monitoring.

A 2025 study published in the Pakistan Journal of Zoology recorded 1.99 million sharks belonging to 41 species at four Pakistani landing sites during a 21-month study period in 2017–2018.

The sites were Karachi Fish Harbour, Korangi Fish Harbour, Sonmiani Fish Harbour and Gwadar Fish Harbour. Karachi accounted for 86.9 per cent of the sharks recorded.

The study found that 85 per cent of the shark species in the landings were classified as Critically Endangered, Endangered, Near Threatened or Vulnerable.

It also reported a declining trend in elasmobranch landings, from 54,959 metric tonnes in 1999 to 5,793 tonnes in 2019, a decline of about 89.5 per cent.

The figures point to severe depletion, but they also highlight a persistent data and governance challenge.

The study’s long-term landing series was compiled from Marine Fisheries Department data, while previous assessments have highlighted the need for systematic shark monitoring across the many landing sites along the Sindh and Balochistan coasts.

WWF-Pakistan experts have previously estimated that there were around 74 landing sites in the two provinces, underscoring the scale of the monitoring challenge.

The result is a dangerous paradox as Pakistan has evidence of major declines in shark and elasmobranch landings but still lacks sufficiently comprehensive, species-level information to assess the status of many populations and manage fishing mortality effectively.

A Crisis Hidden in the Catch

The long-term landing data show a dramatic reduction in elasmobranch catches. The decline cannot, by itself, be interpreted as evidence that fishing pressure has fallen or that populations have recovered.

Falling landings can also occur when fish populations become depleted, fishing grounds change or fishing effort and reporting patterns shift.The composition of the catch provides another warning.

The Pakistan Journal of Zoology study found that juvenile and immature individuals of all recorded shark species were being caught as bycatch of other targeted fisheries.

This is particularly significant for sharks because many species grow slowly, mature relatively late and have low reproductive rates. Continued removal of immature individuals can reduce the number reaching reproductive age and make depleted populations slower to recover.

The decline in reported landings also does not mean that fishing-related mortality has disappeared. Sharks continue to interact with tuna gillnet and other fisheries.

Research on tuna gillnet fishery has documented numerous shark species in the bycatch, including shortfin mako, bigeye thresher, silky, oceanic whitetip and hammerhead sharks.

Because monitoring and reporting do not capture every fishing interaction, recorded landings and bycatch should not automatically be treated as a complete measure of total fishing mortality.

Regulation Implementation Challenge

Pakistan is not starting from a regulatory vacuum. Sindh and Balochistan have already adopted measures prohibiting the catching of several threatened shark species, including whale sharks, silky sharks, oceanic whitetips, threshers and hammerhead.

IOTC records also document vessel-monitoring requirements for certain larger fishing vessels in Balochistan.The problem is therefore not simply the absence of rules.

It is the gap between regulation, monitoring, enforcement and reliable fisheries data. The Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said the new national plan seeks to strengthen that system through better landing-site data, species identification, scientific research, stock assessments, stronger enforcement, vessel-monitoring systems, bycatch-reduction measures and habitat protection.

It also proposes mandatory fins-naturally-attached policies and shark sanctuaries.Pakistan’s participation in the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission also gives the issue a regional dimension.

Shark conservation cannot be separated from the country’s obligations and commitments within regional fisheries-management arrangements. The Plan’s PromiseThe National Plan of Action for the Conservation and Management of Sharks, NPOA-Sharks Pakistan 2025–2035, will be implemented in three phases under the leadership of the Marine Fisheries Department and oversight of a multi-stakeholder National Advisory Committee.

The maritime minister says the plan covers all chondrichthyan species found in Pakistani waters, including sharks, rays, skates and chimaeras, while giving particular attention to species targeted by fisheries or facing high bycatch mortality.

The plan aims to restore declining shark populations, eliminate illegal finning, reduce bycatch mortality, protect critical marine habitats, improve data collection and support more sustainable fisheries.

Its proposed measures include shark sanctuaries, mangrove restoration, species-specific protections and mandatory fins-naturally-attached policies, he added. The minister estimates that the first five years of implementation will require between $3.8 million and $5 million, with funding expected from government allocations, international donors and private-sector contributions.

The plan also recognises that shark conservation cannot be separated from the livelihoods of coastal communities. A 2011 peer-reviewed study estimated that Pakistan’s marine fishing sector directly supported about 125,000 people and indirectly supported close to one million people, including dependants.

That figure is historical rather than a current employment estimate, but it illustrates the socioeconomic importance of fisheries. Junaid Chaudhry said conservation measures will therefore need to be accompanied by credible livelihood and compliance strategies.

Restrictions imposed without practical support for fishing communities could create resistance, while weak enforcement would allow illegal and unsustainable fishing to continue.

Climate Change Adds to the Pressure

Shark conservation is becoming more complicated as climate change alters marine ecosystems. Rising sea temperatures can influence species distributions, prey availability and the productivity of coastal habitats, while degradation of mangroves and other nursery habitats can reduce ecological resilience.

These pressures should not be used to explain the historical collapse in Pakistan’s shark landings without supporting evidence. The available fisheries research points strongly to overexploitation and bycatch as major threats.

Climate change, however, can compound existing pressures and make depleted populations more difficult to recover. This strengthens the case for ecosystem-based fisheries management that protects not only shark populations but also the coastal and marine habitats on which they depend.

Implementation Will Be the Test

Speaking to ClimateDataBook, Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Muhammad Junaid Anwar Chaudhry said the plan would require an estimated $3.8 million to $5 million during its first five years, with funding expected from government allocations, international donors and private-sector contributions.

The minister said implementation would be led by the Marine Fisheries Department under the oversight of a multi-stakeholder National Advisory Committee.

Progress is expected to be assessed annually against indicators including landing-site monitoring coverage, completion of stock assessments, deployment of vessel-monitoring systems and reductions in bycatch mortality.

Formal reviews are planned every three years. These mechanisms will need to be transparent. Catch data, enforcement actions, budgets and progress reports should be made publicly accessible wherever possible.

Otherwise, the NPOA risks becoming another policy framework whose commitments are stronger on paper than in ports and fishing grounds.The most urgent priority is to establish a credible national baseline.

Monitoring needs to extend beyond Karachi to Gwadar, Pasni, Ormara and other important landing centres in Sindh and Balochistan.

Species-level records, size data, gear information and release outcomes are essential for determining whether populations are actually recovering or whether changes in landings simply reflect changes in fishing effort, fleet composition or reporting.

Pakistan’s sharks are not simply victims of a biodiversity crisis; they are indicators of the state of the country’s marine governance.The new action plan provides a necessary framework.

Its success, however, will ultimately depend on whether Pakistan can enforce existing protections, generate reliable fisheries data, reduce bycatch mortality, protect critical habitats and ensure that coastal communities are part of the solution.

If implementation is delayed or enforcement remains weak, the 2035 goal of recovering shark populations could become another missed opportunity in effort to protect marine ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.