PIDE seminar: ‘Fisheries & aquaculture sector has potential to generate USD10bn per year’

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s fisheries and aquaculture sector has the potential to generate USD 10 billion per year with better management and value addition.

This was stated by speakers while discussing the pros and cons of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy 2025–2035, at a seminar organised by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE). The seminar was moderated by Dr Muhammad Faisal, research fellow at the PIDE.

The speakers said that despite Pakistan’s rich water resources, fisheries contribute less than 0.5 percent to the GDP. They added that Pakistan has so far captured limited value in both domestic and export markets.

The new policy seeks to change that by driving federal-provincial coordination, improving regulation, enhancing seafood exports, and meeting international obligations. The wide-ranging strategy includes priorities such as climate resilience, environmental safeguards, child protection, gender inclusion, labour rights, and incentives for adopting modern technologies. The minister called it an “evolving framework” whose success will rely on sustained commitment and collaboration across provinces.

The seminar underscored the strategic importance of fisheries and aquaculture within Pakistan’s agricultural economy, noting that despite its significant contribution to employment and nutrition, the sector has remained underdeveloped due to governance gaps, fragmented legislation, weak value chains, outdated financing mechanisms, and limited integration of climate risks into policy planning.

The seminar brought together policymakers, researchers, and sector experts to deliberate on a long-term framework for green growth, food security, export development, and sustainable livelihoods.

Speaking as a keynote speaker, Dr Kanwar Muhammad Javed Iqbal, Senior Policy Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) highlighted that the policy represents one of Pakistan’s most comprehensive and participatory reform efforts in recent years.

Developed through a bottom-up consultative process involving provinces, federal institutions, international experts, and technical working groups, the policy seeks to establish coherence across federal and provincial mandates. Iqbal emphasized that responsible resource use and sound governance form the foundation of the policy, aligning Pakistan’s fisheries management with international standards, including FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

He stressed the urgent need to address data deficiencies, over-fishing, illegal and unreported fishing practices, and inadequate infrastructure that have constrained the sector’s sustainability and export competitiveness.

The seminar highlighted the policy’s strong focus on revitalizing aquaculture as a key driver of alternative livelihoods and export growth, particularly in response to declining marine fish stocks.

Successful pilot initiatives in freshwater and marine aquaculture were cited as evidence of the sector’s commercial viability when supported by modern infrastructure, research, and regulatory clarity.

Participants were also briefed on major institutional reforms proposed in the policy, including the declaration of fisheries and aquaculture as an industry, tax and duty exemptions to encourage investment, the establishment of an Apex Council for coordination, the introduction of integrated e-governance systems, and strengthened monitoring, control, and surveillance mechanisms to curb illegal fishing.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026