Pakistan

90% of fish consumed in Pakistan is contaminated, says WWF

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Approximately 90% of the fish consumed in the country is contaminated, putrefied, and unfit for human consumption, The News reported while citing a World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) official.

Muhammad Moazzam Khan, WWF’s technical adviser on marine fisheries and former director general of the marine fisheries department, shared the assessment at seminar titled ‘Blue Economy: An Avenue for Development in Pakistan’ held at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs.

Khan insisted that the large percentage of fish sold in shops and on roadside carts were unfit for human consumption. The speakers at the seminar shed light on various aspects of Pakistan’s blue economy, challenges it faces, marine fisheries issues, and the socioeconomic uplift of coastal communities.

“Fish are very delicate protein item and putrefy very quickly if not iced or frozen as soon as possible,” Khan explained. “Fish are usually kept at the room temperature and sometimes at above 40 degree Celsius and vendors sprinkle water on them to make them look fresher and keep them from decaying. But they have already become unfit for consumption, yet people buy and consequently, fall sick.”

He suggested that fish be stored between 0 and 5 degree Celsius to prevent it from rotting. The WWF representative pointed out Pakistan exported around 10 per cent of the produce and the rest was degraded or damaged as most boats lacked proper deep freezers and other facilities to store the catch.

He remarked that export of seafood in terms of volume is increasing, but still we are unable to achieve a large target due to a number of factors, including lack of proper processing facilities and low quality controls.

Khan lamented that fisheries remained a completely unregulated sector in Pakistan as the fleet size had increased tremendously unchecked. According to a survey carried out in 2016, the overall fleet size comprised 11,500 vessels, but now it was estimated to have topped 20,000, which needed to be cut down to 5,000 to 6,000 to preserve the fish resource, he said.

Vice Admiral (retd) Asif Humayun explained why the blue economy was a new frontier for Pakistan. Towards the end, he suggested a way forward to tap the full potential of the sea and marine resources to support the national economy.

He said Pakistan had three commercial ports, and the Port Qasim had emerged as the leading port in the country with an annual profit of over Rs90 billion as it handled 52 per cent of Pakistan’s total cargo.

The retired navy officer said that the Karachi Port Trust had also increased its capacity but its profitability was stagnant due to a huge debt burden and transportation hurdles within Karachi. Gwadar is a port for the future, Humayun said, adding it had a huge potential for transshipment, bunkering, ship repair and other facilities but it handled less than 80,000 tonnes of cargo every year.

The former vice admiral pointed out that the country’s ports were relatively inefficient with their cargo handling being slow, and the tariff was high. He called upon the maritime affairs department to look into these issues and resolve them so the ports could attract more transshipment cargo and transit trade.

After the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan, he maintained all Central Asian states had expressed their desire to use Pakistani ports for transit and transshipment of cargo.

Seafarers

Pakistan had about 22,000 registered seafarers while currently about 6,000 personnel regularly sailed in the sea, he said and added that most of those seafarers were employed by foreign ships because Pakistan had only 11 ships.

Comparatively, Filipino seafarers earned forex worth around five billion dollars while Indian over one billion dollars.

Coastal communities

Saeed Baloch, the general secretary of the Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum, lamented that fish used to be a cheap and clean source of protein for the poor coastal communities but it were turning into a luxury item due to rising cost. “Ninety per cent of the fishing boats have become motorised and use fuel. Rising fuel prices have pushed up the cost of fish and related products,” he remarked.

Baloch said the fishing community helped the country earn forex up to 300 to 400 million dollars annually through the export of seafood but it was unable to increase the exports because their own lives weren’t improving.

Talking about obstacles to increasing the volume of fish being produced in Pakistan, he said no comprehensive policy had been devised yet to govern the fisheries sector. Baloch lamented that successive governments devised no policy to improve the lifestyle of fishing communities living in decades-old environment without basic amenities such as potable water and drainage systems. He also discussed the issue of sea pollution due to enormous discharge of untreated effluent into the sea.

Latest News

Mother detained after killing her six-month-old infant and attempting suicide

Published

22 hours ago

Farwa

According to specifics, a case has been filed under the sections of attempted suicide, murder, and murder on the complaint of the grandfather of the young child against the suspected mother.

Police sources claim that Kulsoom Bibi killed her 6-month-old daughter Fatima and maimed her other children with a sharp object. The mother had been arguing with her husband and made a demand for their divorce.

The mom and her three children attempted suicide yesterday in a horrifying tragedy.

Police claim that a mother slashed her vein and sliced the throats of her three children in Wazirabad’s Jinnah Colony due of a marital argument.

Consequently, two more children and their mother were sent to the hospital in severe condition, and a six-month-old infant passed away from her injuries.

The mother who is being accused has been arrested by police, and an investigation is still ongoing.

In a related incident, a woman in Quetta killed herself after giving her four daughters poison.

The horrifying event happened in the Hazara Town neighbourhood of Quetta. The mom poisoned her four daughters, who ranged in age from three to ten, before killing herself.

Latest News

Pakistan claims to support a UN body working to guarantee food security.

Published

22 hours ago

Farwa

Pakistan has stated that it supports the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in building a facility with broader and people-centric criteria to further strengthen its efforts to defeat hunger, improve nutrition, and ensure food security in developing countries. The statement was made at the recently concluded UN Economic and Social (ECOSOC) Youth Forum.

Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, stated, “We have considerable potential in the agriculture sector and could play an important role in building the global food supply chains.” Over a thousand young activists and leaders from around the world attended the meeting.

At the same time, he expressed Pakistan’s support for the UN Secretary-General’s demand for immediate reform of the global financial system, emphasising the need to address debt relief on behalf of the billions of impoverished people living in developing nations. He said that this reform was essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 2) of ending world hunger.

Given the growing susceptibility of the world’s food systems to a wide range of problems, Ambassador Jadoon also emphasised the necessity of coordinated worldwide efforts to build robust and sustainable food systems that can survive shocks and disruptions.

He issued a warning that there was a convergence of crises facing the world, including supply chain disruptions, economic contractions, and conflicts. These crises posed serious dangers to the ability of the current food systems to deliver safe, affordable, and nutrient-dense diets for everyone.

According to the envoy from Pakistan, which is the fifth most populated nation in the world and has a sizable youth population, Pakistan understood the vital significance of preserving food systems for coming generations. He said that the country’s economy was based mostly on agriculture, which employed a sizable percentage of the working population and made a major contribution to GDP.

The catastrophic floods in Pakistan in 2022, which damaged 4.4 million acres of standing crops, were cited by Ambassador Usman Jadoon as evidence of the grim realisation that food systems are extremely susceptible and that countries vulnerable to climate change confront urgent concerns.

According to him, Pakistan is facing significant challenges in the agriculture sector due to a series of interconnected crises, which have resulted in a sharp increase in food costs on the global market.

In addition to addressing acute crises, Ambassador Jadoon stated that Pakistan pushed for international aid that gave priority to the long-term resilience and sustainability of food systems in the most vulnerable countries. According to him, ensuring food security required a comprehensive strategy that took into account both immediate problems and long-term opportunities, especially for the young people who are the nation’s future.

He added that Pakistan calls on all stakeholders to work together to create resilient food systems that can survive the challenges of today and tomorrow since the country is dedicated to the welfare of its citizens as well as the global community.

Latest News

For the Pakistani team’s T20I against New Zealand, Haseebullah has replaced Azam Khan.

Published

22 hours ago

Farwa

In a brief press release, PCB said, “The national selection committee has announced wicketkeeper/batter Haseebullah as the replacement player for Azam Khan, who was sidelined from the T20I series against New Zealand due to a tear in his right calf muscle.”

The information indicates that Haseebullah will become a member of the Pakistan team following the third Twenty20 International, and he will be eligible to be selected for the two remaining Twenty20 Internationals, which are slated to take place in Lahore on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

Earlier in the year, Haseebullah, 21, played in his only Twenty20 international match against New Zealand.

or the unfamiliar, Azam Khan was declared out of the whole series on Saturday after missing the first Twenty20 International because of pain in his right knee and right calf muscle.

According to PCB, “Azam Khan has been advised to undergo a 10-day rest following radiology reports confirming a Grade One tear of his right calf muscle.”

The announcement also stated, “Azam will therefore be unable to take part in the current Twenty20 International series against New Zealand, which concludes in Lahore on April 27.”

Notably, Mark Chapman’s incredible innings helped the visitors to an easy seven-wicket victory in the third Twenty20 International, tying the five-match series between Pakistan and New Zealand at one.

Pakistan team for the Twenty20 Internationals in New Zealand

Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Babar Azam (c), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Irfan Khan Niazi, Usama Mir, Zaman Khan

Mohammad Ali, Agha Salman, Sahibzada Farhan, and Muhammad Wasim Jr. are the reserve players.