Inland fish farming declining in Pakistan

In Pakistan Inland fish farming that progressed well between FY07 and FY12 has since been on the decline owing to the lack of needed investment.

In FY07, the then federal government in collaboration with provincial governments had provided an incentive package for fish farmers. 

In Punjab alone over 30,000 acres of marginal farmland was brought under fish farming. In Sindh, too, a number of fish farms were set up on thousands of acres of farmland.

Freshwater fish catch that had jumped from 230,000 tonnes in FY07 to 270,000 tonnes in FY12 went on a gradual decline and finally fell to 145,000 tonnes in FY17.

According to a US-based fish research centre, more than 200 species of freshwater fish are found in Pakistan the majority of which are native but some were introduced in the country through imports.

Fish farmers say the number of fish species bred in hatcheries has fallen from 25-30 some years ago to about 15-20 now due to lack of availability of seed fish at affordable prices.

Overall exports of seafood including both marine and inland fish and fish products are currently on the rise after witnessing declining trend in the last two years. Seafood export earnings rose 17pc in ten months of FY17 to $317m from $271m in the same period of FY16.

Fishing industry plays a significant part in the national economy of Pakistan. With a coastline of about 814 km, Pakistan has enough fishery resources that remain to be developed. Most of the population of the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan depends on fisheries for livelihood. It is also a major source of export earnings.

Fishing industry is the managed by the Fisheries Development Commissioner (FDC) under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MFAL) of Government of Pakistan. The office of the FDC is responsible for policy, planning and coordination with provincial fisheries departments and other national and international agencies such as Asia-Pacific Fishery Commission. The marine subsector is overlooked by Marine Fisheries Department (MFD). The Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) is engaged in the research of the industry. Some universities in the country are also involved in basic fisheries research.