From $17.165 million, Pakistan's seafood exports surged to an unexpected $183.451 million in the first half of the current fiscal year. Seafood exports showed a rise of 10.32 percent during July-December 2016-17 from $166.286 million in July-December 2015-16, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
The volume of seafood exports rose from 5,405 metric tons to 68,519 metric tons this fiscal year, from the 63,114 metric tons of the last fiscal. Seafood exports had plunged by over 18 percent, or $6.067 million, to $27.443 million, from $33.510 million in December 2015. The volume also rose by 21 percent, or 2,753 metric tons, from 10,644 metric tons in December 2016.
Meanwhile, explaining the slack in fishing in recent weeks, an official of the seafood bureau said on Monday that it was usual for fishermen to suspend fishing in winters since gusty winds and cold weather bring back boats to their moorings. The weather is cold and unfeasible for deep-sea shipping operations, he said, with navigational channel congested by the high number of anchored boats.
The head of the Sindh Trawlers Owners and Fishermen Association, Habibullah Khan Niazi, said that in such circumstances the fishing catch was too low to be financially viable for fishermen toiling out on the sea in winter. "Winds are too strong for fishing boats," he added. The cold spell in Karachi, he said, has already been discouraging fishermen from deep- sea voyages.
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