Zap fishing with generators, say Pakistani fishermen

A Pakistani fisherman stands in a boat as he uses a "hot-wire" to stun fish by electricity in the River Kabul, at Hajji Zai village in Pakistan. -AFP filepic

HAJI ZAI, PAKISTAN: Abbas Khan feeds a hot wire from a rickety generator into a river, a fishing technique he argues is more environmentally friendly than others used in northwest Pakistan -- though he also admits it has killed several of his friends.

Hundreds of fishermen risk their lives daily to hunt the rare fish known as “sher mahi”, found in the Kabul River which flows from the Hindu Kush in Afghanistan into neighbouring Pakistan, before merging with the Indus.