Fishing for the future

KARACHI – The Fisheries Development Board (FDB) has approved the provision of advance training to Pakistani fish farmers in various farming techniques like trout culture, cage culture and catfish culture. This was decided at the 11th Meeting of the FDB Board of Directors held in Karachi on February 26 under the chairmanship of Livestock and Dairy Development Ministry secretary. A press release issued by the FDB stated that the Board appreciated the services of FDB CEO Arif Aslam for working hard to achieve the targets of Aquaculture and Shrimp Farming Project in the province and the objectives of the board.
The meeting was attended by the FDB directors including senior officials of fisheries departments of all provinces, fish farmers, and fish processors/traders from all over the country. In the meeting, the FDB CEO and Aquaculture and Shrimp Farming Project Director Najeeb Ahmad highlighted the activities of the FDB during the year 2010-11 that included establishment of fish/shrimp hatcheries; fish cage farms; training and technical support to fish farmers and provincial fisheries departments; holding seminars and workshops to provide latest information and getting feedback from stakeholders.
Aslam briefed the Board about the plan of the FDB to promote aquaculture through technology, highlighting that the current fish culture practices of Pakistan cultivate major species of carps including the Chinese carp that have low productivity and are not sought after in the international export market, which has a high demand for catfish and tilapia species.
Pakistan is annually importing around 40,000 tonnes of a Vietnamese catfish (pangasius species), which is becoming a burden on foreign reserves of the country. The FDB has approved the promotion of this species in the country through technical support from foreign experts arranged. Last year, under an experiment near Lahore, the fish was successfully raised in ponds while this year many fish farmers are being listed to raise this fish in their ponds. The culture of these species will increase pond productivity up to four folds.
Currently, the average production of fish from a one-acre pond is one tonne. With the culture of pangasius species the production of one-acre pond will be at least four tonnes that will increase the income of fish farmers, apart from increasing the availability of white meat to consumers. The promotion of catfish culture will not only substitute the import of fish but also enable Pakistan to export the produce to the international market.
The FDB board also approved the establishment of two hatcheries for high-value fish species like catfish and tilapia with one in Sindh and the other in Punjab in partnership with the private sector. The seed produced in these hatcheries will be provided to fish farmers all over the country on subsidised rates for promotion of these species.