Omar Hayat, an expert on fisheries and environment has stressed need for the adaptation of multiple approaches at the grass-root level in fisheries and aquaculture sectors to create new job opportunities though capacity building programmes and improvement of infrastructure of landing of fish and shrimp as well as production facilities to enhance exports to new destinations for better returns.
"We have the renewable natural resources, technology and human resources which can be put to gainful employment with net benefits to exchequer in the shape of foreign exchange," the expert told while talking to Business Recorder. He said the Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Food Security and Research should take notice of the problem and should instruct the line departments of the federal government to take appropriate remedial measures for correction of the situation on priority basis. If the situation is not corrected the result will be digress purchases in the market besides dropping of prices of fish.
The main issue is of Turtle Excluder Device (TED) should be solved on priority basis otherwise precious foreign exchange receipt will be effected. The departments should focus to recoup the lost markets by making alternative strategies of fish and fisheries products export. It is right time to go for value addition for fish and fisheries products for export, he said.
These aspects can only be covered if the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, Small and Medium Enterprise Department and a University in collaboration of line department should embark upon the task of research and development through quality research to be fitted with the latest technological equipment if it aspires to improve and fetch top dollar in foreign exchange earnings.
This will create new jobs and upgrading the existing jobs in fisheries and aquaculture in fresh, brackish and marine fisheries and aquaculture. We should attract new potential investors and entrepreneurs from Japan, China, Turkey and EU countries such as Norway in their field of expertise.
This task, he said needs to be assigned to SMEDA in collaboration with the line departments. Investment in aquaculture and shrimp farming is the need of the time to be promoted at all levels. None of these goals can be achieved until an enabling environment is created in
Fisheries and Aquaculture plays an important role in Pakistan economy as a source of livelihood for coastal inhabitants and rural inland population which depends on rivers, lakes, ponds and manmade dams reservoirs, etc). Fisheries and Aquaculture share in Gross Domestic Product is presently 0.41 percent which with total estimated at 520,000 tons out of which 375,000 tons was marine production and remaining catch came from inland waters during 2016-17.
He said that though the government is making efforts at the Provincial and Federal level but they require more focused approach with supportive funding to achieve the desired results. The approach should be export led development of the sector with import substitution of inputs through indigenous development of quality inputs. Private and Public sector has to play its role which should be in the advantage of both players.
The statistical data of development of Fisheries and Aquaculture is patchy which does not provide clear picture of employment, income from production and its trade in the country. If the sector is given attention it can create threefold increase in employment to the idle work force in the rural areas. The increase of fish production will support exports which will generate precious foreign exchange for the country.
The former Director, Fisheries, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa said inland fisheries has its own challenges and impediments in warm waters of Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province and Cold waters of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan. Gainful employment in Fisheries and Aquaculture of unskilled labour force, semiskilled and skilled and educated work force is requirement of the time in the rural economies.
The increase of productivity of work force can only be achieved through technical education and higher education of the human resources. The Government has to invest in infrastructure f hatcheries, provision of access to finance to private sector along-with capacity building initiatives to provide a step forward to development of the sector and will be increasing the source of foreign exchange for the exchequer, income and jobs in private and public sector for youth of the country. The statistics of exports can be doubled as well as tripled with growth of the sector. Foreign investment can be encouraged through public private partnerships in aquaculture sector.