Reviewing ban on seafood import from Pakistan: EU team to visit by end of October

The EU inspectors are likely to visit Pakistan by end of October this year to examine whether the Karachi Fish Harbour, seafood processing plants and fishing boats have met the specifications set by the EU for import of seafood from Pakistan.
Fisheries sources told Business Recorder on Monday that the EU has positively responded to government's request to visit Pakistan despite the country not being in the schedule for visit during current year by EU inspectors. However, senior officials of Marine Fisheries Department [MFD] declined to confirm the EU's visit in October end, saying that the union has just confirmed of receiving the action plan which the Pakistan government had sent to it last September.
Nine processing units have been listed for the inspection this time, whereas the EU had de-listed 11 such plants for not meeting its specification in 2007, officials said. Sources maintained that the government will keep the EU's visit secret because of law and order situation in the country and probably such other related issues.
"The visit will be kept secret because of the deteriorated law and order situation towards the West is very much sensitive. The Monday's blast at UN's World Food Programme office will have definitely disturbed the EU in advance," they pointed out. Earlier there were speculations that the union team might not visit because its list of visiting countries does not include Pakistan for this year.
However, on a special request, the union has responded to confirm that it could be available for about nine days in October end, they said. "A sufficient number of modified boats are available for examination, the seafood processing plants have already done the spadework and similarly auction halls are also ready to meet the union's standards," they added.
An official of Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA) told Business Recorder that a week time will be enough for the authority to manage things before the visiting date of EU team to Karachi fish harbour. "Nothing is worrying for KFHA during the EU's visit here [harbour], we are making efforts to improve things rapidly," he said.
The EU slapped a ban on import of seafood from Pakistan to EU countries in 2007 as it declared that 11 seafood processing plants had failed to meet its specifications, with unmodified fishing boats and untidy auction halls. Seafood processors said that the issues of cold-chain retainment of seafood catch from fishing boats to auction halls and subsequently to processing plants and the catch traceability with boat identification have almost been resolved.
Sources said that the authorities will now allot every boat a voyage period keeping in view the capacity of its ice storage, instead of letting it spend days in sea beyond its compatibility of storing seafood catch at a certain degree centigrade.