Federal government sets new deadline for boat modifications

For lifting the EU ban from Pakistan's seafood export, the federal government has set a new deadline for boat modifications, asking the provincial government to produce 100 modified large boats by the end of September this year, officials told Business Recorder on Wednesday. Previously, Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) was assigned to produce 50 large boats by the end of August.
However, it failed to meet the boat modification deadline. The Federal Government targets modification of some 200 large boats till November or December this year, the officials said.
According to the final report issued on August 22, the authority had completed the modification some of 35 large boats. Five large boats with fish holds and 30 medium sized (Doonda) boats with fish tanks have been modified.
The modification work on six boats is under way, while work on 11 boats could not be initiated because of a deadlock between the fishermen and the authority on the issue cost sharing. The fishermen had asked the government to pay 75 percent of the boat modification cost and prevented the authority to begin work on their boats until a final agreement was reached, according to the officials.
The boat modification task was earlier assigned to the Marine Fisheries Department (MFD) to introduce five such modified boats. But, it could not accomplish the task. Now, the federal government is getting the long awaited project completed through KFHA.
The officials said that soon after the modification of 200 boats, the federal government will ask the EU team to again visit the harbour and inspect the auction hall, modified boats, harbour infrastructure and processing plants. The plan envisages lifting EU ban by the end of this year or earlier calendar year.
On the fresh assignment, Wada local boat builders are working at the harbour, whose cost of work is nearly Rs 0.4 million for one boat, while the same was previously quoted at Rs 1.2 million by Karachi Shipyard's concerned department. On the country's seafood export, the EU had imposed a ban in April 2006 by de-listing 11 seafood processing plants on quality grounds. One processing plant had already been de-listed long ago.
A three member EU mission comprising EC's Food and Veterinary official visited Karachi Fish Harbour (KFH) from January 22 to 26, 2007 and examined the seafood export process at KFH and the processing plants.
They also examined the hygienic standards and upgradation work, which the EU had made mandatory for the processing plants and KFH. The ban came after the EU inspection team's report. The EU gave its final verdict in writing, which the Pakistan government received on March 12, stating that after April 12, 2007 it will not allow a single seafood consignment.
A 27- nation bloc of EU was the prime importer of the country's seafood and was importing around 25 percent of the total seafood export of Pakistan. The seafood export has surpassed $200 million mark for the first time during the last fiscal year 2007-08, despite the EU ban.