KARACHI: A group of Pakistani fishermen in Sindh province netted over 200 valuable blackspotted croakers this week along the coastline of Thatta district, the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) reported on Saturday, adding the catch fetched a staggering sum of impressive Rs140 million ($500,939).
Known locally as “Sua” in Sindhi, the blackspotted croaker is prized as a rare delicacy in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, China and Japan, celebrated for its exceptional taste and texture.
“Two days ago, a fishing boat belonging to Hanif Katiyar made an extraordinary catch of nearly 280 rare sua fish, which have been sold for Rs140 million,” Kamal Shah, PFF spokesperson, told Arab News.
He said the windfall would be shared among the 35 to 45 fishermen on board, with the boat’s owner receiving nearly half of the total sum.
“Even a small share of such a substantial sum is life changing for a fisherman,” he continued. “The days, sometimes weeks, of these poor fishermen are spent out at sea but yield only meager earnings to support their families.”
In a notable instance last November, Muhammad Juman, a 58-year-old boat captain, and his crew captured blackspotted croakers valued at Rs170 million ($599,783).
The high value of these fish is attributed to their medicinal properties, particularly the dried swim bladder, which, as Muhammad Moazam Khan, a technical adviser with the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), explained, acts as a speculative investment like gold.
“The dried swim bladder is sold at $20,000 to $80,000 per kilogram, which is why it is used as speculative investment,” he said. “In 2015, when its market went down, many in China who had invested in it committed suicide.”
He also noted that the population of these fish in Pakistani waters has dwindled by 95 percent, making such catches increasingly rare.
‘Life-changing catch’: Pakistani fishermen net half a million dollars worth of rare blackspotted croakers
https://arab.news/8agkk
‘Life-changing catch’: Pakistani fishermen net half a million dollars worth of rare blackspotted croakers
- Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum says the staggering sum will be distributed among the 35 to 45 fishermen on board
- Blackspotted croakers are a highly prized delicacy in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China and Japan
Pakistan arrests suspect arriving from Cambodia amid crackdown on human smuggling
- Suspect worked at an “online fraud company” in Cambodia, later started smuggling people from Pakistan, says FIA
- Pakistan has intensified crackdown against human smugglers after hundreds of migrants drowned near Pylos in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday said it had arrested a key suspect involved in smuggling humans who had arrived from Cambodia, alleging he was also part of an international fraud network.
The suspect, identified as Zainullah, was arrested by FIA officials when he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Cambodia.
Zainullah had traveled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, a press release issued by the agency said.
“He worked at an online fraud company in Cambodia and later became involved as an agent in recruiting individuals from Pakistan,” the FIA said.
The FIA said it recovered images of multiple individuals’ passports, payment receipts and bank transaction records after extracting data from Zainullah’s phone.
It said the suspect received money through personal bank accounts and a cryptocurrency account.
“The suspect has been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal proceedings,” the FIA said.
“Further investigation is underway.”
Pakistan intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off the Greek town of Pylos, one of the deadliest boat disasters in the Mediterranean.
Authorities say they continue to target networks sending citizens abroad through dangerous routes, following heightened scrutiny at airports and a series of arrests involving forged documents.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said this week illegal migration to Europe has declined by 47 percent this year after its nationwide crackdown, saying that more than 1,700 human smugglers have been arrested in 2025.
