Omar Hayat Khan, an expert on fisheries and aquaculture has said that any initiative taken by the Fisheries Development Board (FDB) and Ministry of Food Security has an impact on the progress of the provincial Fisheries Departments.
Talking to this scribe, he said that the recent regulatory framework unveiled by the government has provided a development canvass for the establishment of appropriate infrastructure and align human resource to cater the need of the sub sector.
Marine fisheries Department of the Federal Government and Government of Sindh have been able to progress in the right direction and Punjab Fisheries Department progress is commendable in this sphere of activity. However, Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa fisheries departments are lagging behind in this sphere of development and the result is that requisite support to fisheries and aquaculture private sector is lacking and new investment required is not coming.
Fisheries Departments of Gilgit Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa need political support to implement new initiative of certification of fish and fisheries products for export. The step will facilitate and encourage direct local and foreign investment in Aquaculture in these areas.
The private sector needs awareness on the subject of export of fish through appropriate intervention by Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority, Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Government of Pakistan and Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) Board of Investment of the respective governments.
It will also facilitate the private sector to align their fish products according to the importing country requirements. Delay in taking initiative on this selective sphere on export is resulting in loss of foreign exchange to the exchequer as well as expansion of the sub sector which if translated into new respectable jobs and income for the investors.
Ministry of Food Security, Government of Pakistan can coordinate the issue of creating awareness in the private sector through provincial fisheries departments and other federal Government organizations responsible for creating enabling environment for increase export of the country.
Lack of coordination between different federal and provincial departments is creating a negative impact on facilitation to private sector and expansion of the sub sector for increased fish production for export.