Ahmed Khan Malik

The Balochistan government has announced enhanced allocations in the budget to help boost the fisheries production in the province. "The government has allocated Rs1 billion for the Fishermen Welfare Endowment Fund for the current fiscal," Shakeel Rind, Director of the Provincial Fisheries Department, told WealthPK.  Besides, he said that Rs1.8 billion had been allocated for non-development budget and Rs5 billion as development budget for the fisheries sector.  He said that the fisheries sector had been passing through turbulent times for quite some time due to multiple problems, including illegal net usage for fishing, excessive fishing by foreign trawlers and high cost of business due to inflation.  

The sector also lacks storage capacity, suffers from poor handling of fish catch, poor compliance measures, and non-availability of modern machinery for processing." Fisheries as a subsector of agriculture play a significant role in the national economy and towards attaining food security. Fisheries are a source of livelihood for the coastal inhabitants and export earnings. Fishing in Pakistan accounts for less than one per cent of GDP, but it still plays a crucial role in developing the economy by employing a significant number of people residing in impoverished societies and backward regions of Balochistan and Sindh.

Manzoor Sasoli, Secretary of Fisheries Association Balochistan, welcomed the allocations of "adequate" funds for the development of the fisheries sector.  However, he said that there were critical issues, which needed government attention like poaching in Balochistan's territorial sea with trawlers from Sindh province.  "Also, appropriate infrastructure is lacking in all the landing sites. Nearly all of the fish catch is landed across beaches, where jetties, quays and auction halls are urgently needed to improve the quality and value of landings."

Fish receiving stations and processing centres as well as associated services, such as ice plants, boat repair and engine maintenance facilities, were almost non-existent along the coast at the major landing sites, he pointed out. He said that the fish receiving stations often acted as satellite stations for processing plants based in Karachi. Manzoor said that most of the catch landed in Balochistan was sent by road to Karachi through the Makran Highway, where it then entered the Pakistan market or was exported. "There is little direct export from Balochistan to international markets, though some fish goes to Iran." He called for effective steps to realise the full potential of fisheries in the province.

Credit: INP-WealthPk