Fisheries, aquaculture sectors ignored: expert

Omar Hayat, an expert on fisheries and environment has said fisheries products are the primary protein sources for some 950 million people worldwide and are an important part of the diet of many more. However, the fisheries and aquaculture sectors are poorly planned, inadequately funded, and neglected by all levels of government.
Talking to Business Recorder, he said this neglect occurs in a paradoxical situation, fishing is the largest extractive use of wildlife in the world; and aquaculture is the most rapidly growing sector of the global agricultural economy. The role, which fisheries and aquaculture can play in the rural coastal and inland economies, has yet to be documented. The focus of the government is on other high value products of agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture is being given low priority.
The sector, he said has the potential to play an important role in poverty alleviation and food security of our economy. The governments have to tape different resources and donor agencies for capacity building of Fisheries Department Staff in the country in terms of technical upgrade and improvement in fisheries extension services to private sector.
Giving proposals for the development of the sector, he said the Federal and Provincial Governments need to substantially increase programmatic emphasis and enlarge its financial and human resource commitments to Marine, Brackish and Fresh water fisheries and aquaculture. Similarly, he said the Federal and Provincial Governments should prioritize the improved management of coastal marine and inland fisheries by providing technical assistance to evolve innovative fisheries management schemes in respective areas of concern, including but not limited to, property rights, co-management, and the use of marine and inland protected areas; plus assist in the development of more accurate and reliable fisheries data collection and reporting systems to international standards.
The development focus of the Government will lead to Food security, improved nutrition and health of the population, support economic growth. The development and expansion of medium and larger, commercial aquaculture systems which have successfully expanded and have been at the origin of the blue revolution in Asia and to a lesser extent in the rest of the developing world have generated large revenues and foreign exchange. However, no tangible evidence/data is found in the literature to substantiate the expected trickle-down effects of tax revenues and foreign exchange earnings derived from these commercial systems on the welfare of lower income households, suggesting that these forms of aquaculture have not translated into demonstrable and inclusive benefits for the poorest.
The expert said Pakistani waters are rich in a variety of aquatic organisms. Of those organisms, fish has earned its importance due to its immense export and revenue potential. In fact, exports and imports of a country serve as an indicator of its economic standing. There are two schools of thoughts for boosting a country's economy. One is export led growth (ELG) and the other import led growth (ILG). Pakistan has to focus on export lead growth of its economy. The objective is to decrease the balance of payment. Fish exports can be doubled from one percent to two percent of the GDP and increase in export revenues.
The results show that fish production has increased in Pakistan during the last two decades starting from 22,255 tons in 1991 and reaching up to 82,448 tons in 2010. During this period highest production, 93,820 tons, was observed in 1994. Both the fish commodities, dried, salted or smoked and frozen excluding fillets and meat, also have increased in their production; however the production of latter commodity surpassed during the last five years of the study.
Export in terms of quantity and value of the former fish commodity declined while the latter commodity increased during the same period. Import figures have shown that there is an increasing trend in the import of the latter fish commodity reflecting its potential demand in Pakistan. This contribution of fisheries production and trade to Pakistan's economy is no way less important to other items of production from natural resources.
By paying more attention to fisheries sector, the country's production and export of fish and fishery products can be increased, and the country's economy as a whole can be boosted through appropriate investment in infrastructure, improvement in governance and access to finance to the private sector. In this regard Federal Government, Ministry of Food Security and Research and Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority have to play its role. The Planning Commission can contribute to provision of funding of new innovative indicatives as well as making request to the donors in this regard.
For sustainable development of any country fishery sector plays an important role and Pakistan is no exception to it. Pakistan has immense resources of marine and inland fresh waters for fish production. From marine resource Pakistan can produce 1 million tons/annuma and similarly from fresh water 10000 metric tons value in millions of rupees aquaculture and increase in household income benefits the local economy from income generated through sale of fish and utilization of agriculture waste in the fish production.