PESHAWAR: The abundance of suitable water in quality and quantity in the shape of springs, streams, rivers and lakes provides opportunity for production of trout fish in million of metric tons per annum. However, it needs translation into a formal billion dollar industry.
This has been stated by a renowned expert on fisheries sector of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Hayat Khan while talking to this scribe on Sunday.
He said that Pakistan has qualified human resource with is under employed in other sectors or unemployed. Number of jobs can be created in only one component of Fisheries that is Trout Fish Farming (Aquaculture).
The local entrepreneurs and foreign direct investors can be attracted to investment in this lucrative business through providing them enabling environment. Many foreign direct investors showed interest in investing in Trout Fish Aquaculture activities but lack of enabling environment that could not be materialized in ground. We have to look at the impediments and bottle necks of the Trout Fish Value Chain.
The main problems faced by the entrepreneurs, he said is the unavailability of quality trout fish seed and trout fish feed followed by skilled labour force in the field of Trout Fish Aquaculture.
The private sector fish farmers, he said have constructed improper infrastructure for fish production without any guidance from aqua culture engineers as there are no qualified aquaculture engineers available in the country to provide his services to the private sector entrepreneurs.
Looking at subsistence level of trout fish farmers’ production activities they get discouragement. The other issue which the trout fish farmers inform to the entrepreneurs and investors is the non availability of quality fish seed from Public Hatcheries throughout Pakistan.
Omar Hayat, who has over 30 years experience in public sector Trout Fish Hatcheries said that they need redesigning through using new appropriate technologies and advance management practices.
The reason behind is that they need intensive training on latest Aquaculture management practices to produce quality trout fish seed and day to day management of the facility. Trout Fish Feed produced by industry in private sector has to be improved and there is no regulator mechanism to enforce them to use proper fish feed ingredients and processes to produce quality fish feed for the farmers. There is solution to every problem in Trout Fish Aquaculture value chain.
The federal government along with Provincial Governments of Khyber Pakhtunkwa, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to develop a Fisheries and Aquaculture policy along with strategy for development of the Trout Fish Aquaculture in Pakistan.
In this aspect Small and Medium Enterprise Development of Pakistan, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of Pakistan and Ministry of Food Security, Government of Pakistan can coordinate and can take a lead role in development of Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy with development strategy.
The provincial governments should also prepare implementation plan for up gradation on Trout Fish Hatcheries and increasing the capacity of the human resource.
The private sector should be provided technical support in redesigning their facilities and proper management and operation of their businesses. They will provide a new opening to the sector for its development for local national and export. These activities will also support the tourism sector to earn revenue for the country.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023