A renowned expert on fisheries and environment, Omar Hayat has called for tapping of trout fishing in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) as economic activity on commercial basis. "Attracting local and foreign tourists for trout angling would prove a lucrative business for the tour operators and the local economies," he contended.
He said recreational fishing can become important component of the tourism industry and important component of regional economies of Pakistan. When angling tourists reach fresh water ecosystems, there is a risk of degrading the very fishery and landscapes that attracted them, thwarting long term economic development prospects and reducing biodiversity. However with best management practices and awareness to the angling tourists this aspect of reduction of biodiversity can be mitigated.
Umar Hayat, who served in the fisheries departments for nearly three decades and retired as Director Fisheries, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said the provincial as well as federal governments should come forward and support the emergence of catch-and-pay recreational fishing in newly constructed private facilities can be legitimately considered a form of ecotourism and contribute positivism to conservation, science, and local or regional economic development.
As this new type of ecotourism projects development projects developed on pilot basis and successful ecotourism angling projects operation. The government with the support of universities can fund angler sponsored research programs in Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provinces of Pakistan. Small and Medium Enterprise Development can propose guidelines for future angling ecotourism projects to line department along with private sector and address opportunities and obstacles to the continued development of angling ecotourism.
He added that Trout Fish is a renewable stock and exploitation of this renewable through angling efforts by tourists will not affect the population dynamics of fish stock in the natural waters of our country. There are no artisan fishing taking place in trout water of Pakistan in any of the regional areas of Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. Thus no impact on local population rather than it will be beneficial to the local economies.
The expert went on to say that trout fishing activities can become a source of foreign exchange earning along with employment and income for the local people of the respective area. The field survey carried out in the early days of hotels, transport, fishing guides confirms that Naran and upper reaches were attractive area for local and foreign visitors during summer season. The tourists hired local fishing guides in Kalam and paid them adequately for taking them to suitable fishing sights similarly was the case in Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir regions of Pakistan.
The development and support of Trout Fishing for ecotourism will generate economic rents (income) in these regions will also generate additional jobs in the local rural economies.
The tourism department, he said can attract tourists with a starting point at Trout Fish Hatcheries in the respective areas and get support of Fisheries Department to form a platform to educate hotel and restaurant owners, tourists, visitors and children and the local populate about a code of good practices to respect the fragility of aquatic ecosystem of mountains and especially to contribute to the conservation of the fishery resources and a source of recreation for the local and the foreign tourists.
He said the promotion of environmental education among children of the mountain is an action which seeks to discover the nature of mountains biodiversity to those who are te first actors of new generation.
The activity, he said would put on the responsible tourism market a new niche on the foot prints of trout fish angling discovery tour about aquatic biodiversity ignored until now.
A new offer for tourists attracting family trout fishing should be introduced where parents and their children visit the same fishing through guided tour by fisheries department officials and private guide for fish of trout fish in respective areas thus generating new jobs and income for the local people.