Pakistan Fishing and Aquaculture

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Pakistan Fishing and Aquaculture

Pakistan’s fish and seafood exports can easily fetch a billion dollars a year. Our fisheries sector can contribute more to agricultural GDP if authorities come up with a result-oriented revival plan.

Currently, seafood exports remain less than half a billion dollars and the share of fisheries in agricultural GDP is 1.8 per cent.

It’s not that the previous governments have altogether neglected this sector. The problem is their efforts were at times fragmented, not backed up by what was required simultaneously. They made no serious efforts to evaluate the results.

Back in 2006-07, Pakistan formulated a national policy and strategy for fisheries and aquaculture development. Inland fishing saw some improvement in the next couple years. But after the devolution of agriculture as a fully provincial subject from 2010-11, work on that policy almost stopped. The provinces started focusing on fisheries on their own with nominal coordination with federal agencies. Had their independent handling of fisheries been sincere and efficient, our gains in this sector would have been exemplary.

Sindh and Balochistan governments kept allocating huge funds for fisheries, but failed to address perennial issues. Punjab somewhat succeeded in promoting inland fishing, exporters say

Now we have a sea boundary of 350 nautical miles instead of 200 miles. But the authorities concerned have done little to exploit this situation for the benefit of deep-sea fishing

In the case of Balochistan, lack of uninterrupted supplies of fish hauls from the coastline of that province to Karachi also discouraged private-sector initiatives in fisheries there. Karachi Fisheries, on the other hand, remained in the vortex of corruption and nepotism. Naturally, private-sector investment in inland fish farming that had risen between 2006-07 and 2010-11 started dwindling.

The Sindh Board of Investment had made some efforts to attract investment in fish farming in coastal areas of Thatta and Badin and had initially got encouraging response from the private sector. But after that, no more plans were made and even Thatta-Badin fish farms are now operating below their potential, some owners of those farms lament.

Private-sector investors did not take much interest in the idea of shrimp farming at specially built water ponds.

Sindh and Balochistan are the main fish-producing provinces. The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), the party in power at the centre, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has little influence in these two provinces. If Sindh and Balochistan governments are serious about improving their economies for future political gains, they should not ignore the issues facing our fisheries sector.

The PTI’s federal government should also flag fisheries for a quick turnaround in the same manner it has prioritised forestry. If it can aim to plant 10 billion trees in five years, why can’t it try to boost fish and seafood exports to a billion dollars also in five years?

Exports of fish and fish preparations fetched $451 million in the last fiscal year. The amount was 14.5pc higher than the preceding year’s exports of about $394m. But given vast fishing resources available in the country, current foreign earnings are not at all impressive. We can take fish and seafood exports to a billion dollars within three to five years provided fishing resources are exploited more systemically, some investment is made in processing, exporters are consulted in decision making at all levels and those running fishing affairs keep a constant check on the result.

Let’s start with the fishing resources.

Marine fishing, which is carried out in sea water, takes place within a small portion of the areas technically available for this purpose. The reason: we don’t have enough number of large, modern, tailor-made fishing vessels and boats. Mangroves growth has not been prioritised and shrimp production remains stagnant. Inland fishing also suffers from a lack of proper fishing boats and preservation systems, encroachments along the riverbeds and broken supply chain.

Production at fishing farms is not accelerating much in the absence of adequate investment and research on modern ways of big-scale fish breeding. Private-sector investment in fishing remains elusive and the bulk of the public-sector investment in the revamping of fisheries infrastructure goes into salaries and perks of the officials of the departments concerned. Stories about their financial corruption also keep coming up.

All this has to change if we want to explore the full potential of our fishing sector.

“We need an institutional framework to make long-term strategic investment in the fishing sector under public-private partnership. We need to bring all stakeholders on to a single platform,” suggests a Karachi-based seafood exporter.

“We need to envision, strategize and execute five-year plans for the development of fishing with very active participation from policymakers at different levels, businessmen and local and foreign experts.”

 

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In the last fiscal year, export volumes of fish and fish preparations exceeded 198,000 tonnes, up 27pc from 155,000 tonnes a year ago. Exporters say the potential for exports is no less than 300,000 tonnes that can be increased to half a million tonnes in the next five years. One reason why our export volumes are below 200,000 tonnes is that our fish and seafood processing units lack the facilities required for producing export-grade products of acceptable standards in the global buyers’ market, exporters say.

Another reason is the production of high-end, value-added expensive products is limited. The fact that growth in export volumes in the last fiscal year was higher than export earnings’ growth shows that the average per-unit price of fish and seafood shipments did not improve.

Maintaining supplies in the local market of fish, shellfish, shrimp and crabs and creating an exportable surplus at the same time require out-of-the-box solutions for problems in fish hauling. Deep-sea fishing must be promoted. Fishing of those varieties whose population is in danger due to environmental issues, including growing sea pollution, must be checked, exporters say. Data collection for fish production from all sources will have to be made more reliable and future forecast more scientific.

Our total fish production continues to hover around 650,000 tonnes a year, with 400,000 tonnes coming from marine sources and 250,000 tonnes from inland fishing.

In March 2016, the United Nations Maritime Commission accepted Pakistan’s claim regarding its territorial waters. Now we have a sea boundary of 350 nautical miles instead of 200 miles. What have the authorities done so far to exploit this situation for the benefit of deep-sea fishing? People associated with the fishing business lament that they have so far not received even a proper briefing about it.

Ideally, fishermen should have received fresh guidelines on how deeper their vessels can now go into the expanded sea areas under the administration of Pakistan.

Sindh's fragile mangroves and abundant fishery potential

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Introduction to Fish Farming. Construction of Fish pond

Mini Fish Farm ,

 

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KP govt plans to utilize Khanpur, Tarbela dams for breeding & stocking of fish

February 03, 2019

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government has planned to utilize Khanpur and Tarbela dams reservoirs for breeding and stocking of fish.

According to an official of the department provincial government will also establish model hatcheries and fish farms in adjoining districts including Haripur and Swabi.

The facility will also help bolster fish farming in canals water of the adjacent districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

 

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“Post-harvest losses [in the fisheries sector] are more than 80 percent", claimed Moazzam Khan, former Director General Marine Fisheries Pakistan WWF, at a seminar on fisheries recently held in Karachi by the Employers' Federation of Pakistan.

To put things in perspective, fisheries sector contributes 0.39 percent to Pakistan's GDP and 2.10 percent to total agriculture sector output. Looking at regional economies, the fisheries sector of Bangladesh contributes close to 4 percent to its GDP while that of India contributes 1 percent to GDP and 5 percent to its overall agriculture sector.

The fisheries sector in Pakistan, as is the case with a lot of other sectors, is marred by several problems. Understanding that fish is one of the most perishable items, it is astounding how fish is sold the whole day in the markets across cities, without proper storage in place, rendering them unfit for human consumption. Yet the practice exists. Take for instance the fact that as per best international practices, fish can be stored at 20 degrees without ice for only 10 minutes; if it is kept without ice for any longer, it must not be consumed. However, in Pakistan, fishmongers spray water all day and continue to sell them.

According to Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Pakistan's per capita fish consumption is recorded at 1.9 kilogram per year, the lowest in the world. According to Household Integrated Economic Survey (HIES) 2015-16, the per capita consumption for chicken meat is 4.44 kilogram per year while for beef it is 2.4 kilograms per year. Moazzam Khan believes that the reason behind a small share of fish and fish products in Pakistani diets is the mindset of the masses (largely influenced by the myths passed on by the older generations), that fish must not be consumed during hot summer months. This, in effect means that fish is not consumed for around seven months of the year.

Other factors such as lack of finance available or directed towards the development of this sector, a disconnect between what is in demand and what is bred, and not to forget the immense pollution that has depleted the marine life, have also hindered the takeoff of this small but important segment of the economy. Aijaz Mahesar, Secretary Livestock and Fisheries department, Sindh revealed in an interview with BR Research that 80 to 90 percent of the marine life along the Sindh coastline has been depleted as a result of over-fishing and pollution. (See Brief Recording section, Feb 3, 2020)

Given that Pakistan boasts a 990km long coastline shared between the coastal provinces of Sindh and Balochistan, the potential of foreign exchange earnings from this sector is undeniable. However, substantive efforts are required in the fields of research, the private sector involvement, and in exploring and materialising the option of aquaculture to breed and rear in-demand species in controlled environments.

brecorder.com/

 

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China starts importing frozen fish from Pakistan

China has started importing frozen fish from Pakistan as a standard sized container of silver croaker fish set off from Karachi Port via a cargo ship of COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited.

 

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Pakistan’s coast extends 1 100 km from India to Iran, with an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 240 000 km2. The continental shelf area is about 50 270 km2. The total maritime zone of Pakistan is over 30 percent of the land area and includes some very productive areas, with rich fisheries and mineral resources. The only major freshwater input comes from the Indus River at the eastern extremity, which discharges some 200 km3 of water and 450 million tonnes of suspended sediment annually. The coastal ecosystem includes numerous deltas and estuaries with extensive inter-tidal mudflats and their associated wetlands, sandy beaches, rocky shores, mangroves and sea grasses.

Marine fisheries in Pakistan is being carried out on two distinct grounds i.e. coastline covering Mekran (Balochistan) as well as the coast of Karachi (Sindh). Sindh and Balochistan coasts comprise of many widely dispersed, small landing places utilized by small craft equipped with sails and/or outboard engines. The marine fish are marketed as fresh, freezing, canning for local consumption.

Karachi and Mekran being the most important fishing ports are being developed by the Government of Pakistan as a fishing centre.

Even as per capita consumption is rather low (1.9 kg in 2013), fisheries play an important role in the national economy. The marine capture fisheries sector contributes 359 534 tonnes (2015), about 73 percent of capture production and 56 percent of total fish production. Inland capture and aquaculture productions (2015) were 132 456 tonnes and tonnes, 151 055, contributing 21 percent and 23 percent, respectively. In 2010, exports of fish and fishery products were valued at USD 266 million and represented 1.2 percent of total merchandise trade. Recent statistics indicate that fish exports and fish preparations during the second half of 2011 increased by more than 16 percent in value and 6 percent in quantity in comparison to the same period in 2010.

Inland fisheries is generally of a subsistence nature, based on rivers, irrigation canals and reservoirs, with some 211 609 people involved in 2014. In 2014 marine coastal fishing employed over 194 420 people.

Fishing, the most important economic activity in the villages and towns along the coast, and in most of the coastal villages and settlements, is the sole source of employment and income generation. However, according to recent press reports, the fisheries sector provides jobs for only about one per cent of the country’s labour force. The marine capture fisheries comprise both artisanal and commercial scale operations. Almost the entire fleet has been either motorized or mechanized, and freezing is the main mode for processing.

Main fisheries include the shrimp trawl fishery, tuna fishery, industrial deep sea fishery, small-scale demersal fishery, and small pelagic fishery. For the marine fishery sector, close to 9 899 powered vessels, were reported in 2014, from which 32% were undecked. The marine fishing fleet was primarily composed of gill-netters (59 percent) and secondarily by trawlers (41 percent). A fishing boat census has been initiated to determine operational fishing boats as well as the level of fishing efforts in various fisheries.

Aquaculture received increasing attention in recent years. Fish farming is practised in Punjab, Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), and Sindh Province on a limited scale, using trout, common carp, grass carp, silver carp and other carp species which have been introduced, alongside the native Indian carps.

Farming of marine shrimp species has started on a pilot scale (using Penaeus merguiensis and P. indicus) along the Sindh and Balochistan coasts, Aquaculture is being promoted by the rehabilitation of hatcheries; cage culture is being experimented in five major water bodies.

Main Issues

Efforts are being made to reduce post-harvest losses with the government’s provision of 75 percent of the cost involved in the improvement of fish holds. Modern markets in major cities are needed to cope with increasing landings and fish production and to improve the marketing of the locally produced fisheries and aquaculture products.

Overall, regulation on the control of use of harmful gears has been improved including, for instance, the ban on the use of purse seine and trawl nets in different areas. There is no regulation limiting the number of fishing boats in the small-scale fishery, as this is open access fishery. Capacity management applies only to industrial fishing. Licences are issued on the basis of vessel gross registered tonnage and aimed to allocate different-sized vessels to various zones of the EEZ. Implementation of reducing shrimp trawling is difficult.

The fisheries and aquaculture sector in Pakistan vulnerable to natural disasters and the impacts of climate change. In recent year’s earthquakes, tropical storms and major floods have caused considerable damage, loss of life and damage to the fisheries and aquaculture sector. Strengthening the preparedness of the sector (within a national disaster preparedness plan) is seen as important.

Pakistan is a Party to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea since February 1997. It has signed the 1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement in February 1996 but has not ratified it to date.