The delay in release of fund from the government for modification of fishing boats as per EU specified standards has not only brought the modification of boats to a halt but also worried the boats owners about the overhauling process. The EU had laid down its hygienic standards under which the government had to modify fishing vessels and renovate auction hall while exporters were asked to overhaul their processing units if wanted to export seafood to the union members states.
The boat modification process continued uninterrupted until the recent devastating floods, which made the government to divert the funds allocated for development projects towards rehabilitation of flood affectees. Delay in funds for boat modification caused many owners to station their vessels for weeks despite issuance of their work orders, said an owner, adding, "Some 70 small size boats were still lying without modification work".
He said owners were unable to voyage for fishing, as their vessels were waiting for renovation which also causing them huge financial loss on daily basis. "The modifiers are also unwilling to initiate work for no hope of immediate funds release," he added.
He said the EU's ban may continue longer than expected if such interruption in process kept occurring, adding the government should pursue the project on a priority basis. The EU specified fishing boat modification process came to a halt due to delay in funds release by the government for the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
The government had set a target to modify 300 boats by June 30, 2011, which according to KFHA officials seems much difficult task to accomplish timely because lack of funds especially during the last one quarter of the current fiscal year. Similarly, boat modifiers also expressed their concerns over the delay in release of allocated funds, which they said, had badly affected their work and hindered future contacts for the project.
KFHA had chalked out a plan in year 2000 under commodore Naqvi to revamp the boats in line with the global fishing standards, which until 2007 could not become possible for political reasons. The EU ban in 2007 finally compelled the government to rebuild the fisheries sectors including revamping fishing vessels, auction halls, harbour infrastructure, besides pressurising the seafood processors to improve their units' standards.
The government, later on, launched a programme called rehabilitation and renovation of Karachi Fish Harbour project with Rs 206.625 million funds to produce 300 modified boats by June 2010, besides harbour rebuilding. According to an estimate, the country loses at least $50 million of seafood export every year because of the EU ban, while stakeholders are worried about the Marine Fisheries Department's apathy to speed up the process for ban removal.
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