ISLAMABAD    -  Ministry of Maritime Affairs in collaboration with Bank of Punjab and Kamyab Jawan Programme has launched a major initiative for fishermen community in line with Prime Minister Imran Khan‘s vision of Blue Economy.

According to official sources, booths have been set up at Korangi Fish Harbour and Marine Fisheries Department being jointly managed by staff from the Maritime Ministry and the Bank of Punjab to facilitate fishermen seeking to avail financing for trawlers or working capital to buy or upgrade their vessels.

The move comes in the wake of ‘Blue Economy’ policy recently unveiled by the incumbent government largely aiming at attracting foreign investment not only in the ports and shipping sector but also promote costal development.

The policy also aims at promoting marine fishery resources which significantly contributes in country’s foreign exchange earnings through exports. For this purpose the government has launched a tailor made programme to help uplift the fishermen by offering them soft loans.

The scheme is expected to give tremendous boost not only to the earning of the fishermen but also enhance country’s marine fishery exports.

Pakistan has a continental shelf area of 50,270 km2 and coastline length of 1,120 km. The total maritime zone of Pakistan is over 30 percent of the land area. The coastal belt is characterised by a meshwork of estuaries and creeks with mangrove forestry that serve as nursery grounds for species of finfish and shellfish.

The commercially important resources include near 250 demersal fish species, 50 small pelagic fish species, 15 medium-sized pelagic species and 20 large pelagic fish species.

The shrimp variety includes the species of Penaeus indicus and Penaeus monodon among 12 other. Surveys in the Arabian Sea indicate that commercial species of crustaceans like shrimps and lobsters are overexploited. Crabs, cephalopods and other molluscs are an unconventional resource.

Statistics show that there are over 4,000 boats of this kind registered, which constitute shrimp trawlers and as well as gillnetters. Both are also locally made of wood, according to traditional design and fitted with 80–220 hp diesel engines. The average length of a trawler is 10–25 m while that of a gillnetter is 15–35 m. For hauling, many trawlers have a transom stern.