Speaking at a seminar on Moody Marine Services, in Karachi on October 4, Qamar Raza, Director General, Marine Fisheries Department, is reported to have made the welcome revelation that a European Union mission will visit the Karachi Fish Harbour early next year to re-inspect the handling facilities for EU-bound seafood exports.
The seminar was organised for the fisheries products industry in Pakistan, with a view to highlighting the EU requirements, with the Moody's expert, George Richard, making a comprehensive presentation on the international standards of fisheries products, and Moody's certification of these products. Qamar stated that the EU had assured that seafood exports from Pakistan would continue, if all guarantees to improve the facilities for EU-bound seafood consignments were implemented fully.
While saying so, he also referred to his recent visit to Brussels, pointing out that the authorities he met there expressed their satisfaction on the measures taken by Pakistan to improve the handling facilities for seafood export to the EU.
More to this, he recounted the overall situation in the fisheries sector in Pakistan, with due emphasis on the initiatives to improve the infrastructure at the Karachi Harbour and to upgrade the quality of seafood to make it acceptable and competitive in international markets.
On his part, George Richard, of Moody World-wide Certification and Training, in his presentation, referred to two major concerns - ecology (sustainable development) and aquaculture (quality)- both requiring serious consideration to ensure maximum exploitation of the potential of fisheries resources.
Moreover, Richard called for avoidance of 'over-fishing', and maintenance of ecosystem to ensure sustainable development of the fisheries sector. All this will point to a steady progress towards enhancement of seafood exports to the EU, thereby brightening prospects of expansion elsewhere in the world.
Indeed, suspension of seafood exports was a big blow to Pakistan's trade in fisheries products, its revival proving a hard nut to crack, mainly because it required fulfilling its tough requirements, despite the EU extending a helping hand to efforts in that direction.
It will be recalled that irked by the protracted delay in the preparation of the proposed action plan for improvements at the KFH, the EU had restrained the port authorities in its member countries in May last from clearing Pakistan origin seafood shipments.
However, at that point in time export of Pakistani seafood to EU countries was subjected to a self-imposed ban, following an earlier visit by an EU mission, which had found hygienic conditions at KFH unsatisfactory. The drastic action then taken by the EU authorities evidently awakened the concerned departments to the gravity of the situation, leading to a hurried high level meeting to discuss the curbs on our seafood export to that vast market.
Happily, that meeting proved a turning point in ending our predicament in the seafood sector. For, during elaborate discussions on the crisis situation created in the fisheries sector, the Commerce Minister, Humayun Akhtar Khan, directed expeditious finalisation of the long delayed action plan, in accordance with the guidance of United Nations Industrial Development Organisation for improvements at KFH, and upgrading of facilities in fishing boats, both forming integrated parts of the rigid EU requirements.
Needless to point out, this contributed significantly to the lifting of the self-imposed ban, which paved the way for further improvements.
It will also be recalled that a high level meeting held about the same time under the auspices of Sindh government, asked the KFHA Managing Director to prepare an action plan, in association with the Marine Fisheries Department and the Fishermen's Co-operative Society.
Subsequent to this, was also unfurled the Unido's strategic vision for growth in the fisheries sector of Pakistan - the Karachi Fish Export, 2010 plan - envisaging involvement of all the stakeholders in the sector, in general, and the poor fish folk communities, in particular, aimed at achieving the export target of $2 billion per annum.
Again, recalling that since May 2005, the common goal of lifting the self-imposed ban on fishery products to the EU needed be achieved expeditiously, the stakeholders had to resolve the long standing mistrust of each other, to reconcile their previous errors and omissions and to accept the need of change. Reference, in this regard, may also be made to the stakeholders' agreement to the standard and to a maintained procedure to be adopted at the KFH.
It was that long evasive accord that eventually helped the government to withdraw self-imposed ban on exports to EU. All in all, Pakistan will appear to be moving ahead towards attainment of its lost position in seafood exports.