KARACHI, Nov 23: Speakers at a seminar on Tuesday stressed the need for promoting fisheries and aqua-culture in the country in view of global and local market demands.

They also expressed concern over the depleting natural fisheries resources and suggested different line of actions for sustainable yields both in the marine and inland sectors.

A link between the academia and industry was also underlined at the seminar, which was organized jointly by the Marine Reference and Resource Collection Centre of the University of Karachi, Pakistan Fisheries Society and All Pakistan Association of Oceaners.

Speaking at the inaugural session of the seminar held at KU, the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Pirzada Qasim, said that Pakistan was blessed with vast marine resources, which unfortunately remained inadequately tapped. He noted that there were about 1,400 fish and aquaculture species, and only 300 of them were being exported.

He observed that unless there were research-based solutions to problems of fishermen along the coastal line, at fishing industries, and shortcomings with regard to value addition to fish, the country could not expect any expansion in the fisheries industry.

He also agreed to a proponent that establishment of a fisheries management programme at KU would be an ideal one to undertake teaching at the university and develop coordination with the local fish industry as well.

In his address, the DG at the provincial ombudsman secretariat, Shujaat Ali Qarni, who also later chaired the technical session of the seminar, said that efforts should be made to attract all stakeholders and increase interaction between them by forming a fisheries research and development council at the country level.

This he said would lead to the promotion of marine research culture and development of the fisheries industry. Dr Mohammed Ayub of the fisheries department of Punjab government discussed fisheries in Pakistan and underlined the need for concentrating on farm fishery or aqua-culture, which, according to him, had an enormous scope and was also in line with the current government policy and global interest.

He pointed out that capture fisheries were in danger since the last two decades, and as such there was a need to give full attention to protection to natural fishery resources to overcome the biodiversity problems.

With regard to inland fishery, he suggested an institutional and infrastructural strengthening, survey of natural fishery resources and preparation of a management plan of major fishery resources, improvement in the aqua-culture species and provision of incentives to fish farmers.

Moazzam Khan, director of planning and statistics at the Marine Fisheries Department at Karachi divulged on the future of seafood export from Pakistan with special reference to value-added products.

He informed the audience that small quantities of value-added products, including live shellfish (crab, lobster and ivory shells), canned and pasteurized crab meat, frozen cut crab, frozen fish fillet, frozen mullet roe and gilled and gutted fish, were at present being exported from Pakistan.

However, he was optimistic about the seafood export and increase in the production of value-added seafood products in the near future. He also called for urgent measures for the establishment of shrimp and finfish aquaculture in the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan for enhancing fish and shellfish production.

Dr Nasim Akhtar of the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council said that weak linkages within and outside the country and poor understanding of the fisheries sector were main hurdles in the growth and consumption of fisheries in the country.

Dr Shahid Amjad spoke on exploration of marine resources in the country and observed that the coastal zones were fragile and, therefore, any attempt to deplete them for alternative uses may result in irreparable loss of natural systems, with serious consequences to the productive potential and economic uses of the associated natural system.

He also referred to the sensitivity of Pakistan's coastal system to change in the environment, which had a far reaching impact on many uses of coastal amenities and fisheries.

The organizing secretary of the seminar, held in connection with the World Fisheries Day, celebrated on November 21, Dr Quddusi B Kazmi, traced the history of the fisheries day and highlighted the aims and objectives of the three organizations involved in holding of the seminar. She opined that education in marine sciences would help promotion of fisheries and allied industries in the country.

The President of the Pakistan Fisheries Society, Dr M Afzal Kazmi, and Ghaffar A Habib, the president of All Pakistan Association of Oceaners also spoke. Mr Ghaffar shared his findings with the audience on shrimps aquaculture at a local facility developed by his organization.