Federal Minister for Maritime Affairs Syed Ali Haider Zaidi inaugurated the 22nd session of the Scientific Committee of Indian Ocean Tuna Commission today. He said that the biggest challenge for us is to integrate the work of the Federal Ministry of Maritime Affairs with Fisheries Department of Sindh Government in order to boost the industry of Fisheries and preserve the species of tuna fish as well as tuna fish like species.
While appreciating Dr. Safia Mushtaq, who is the Fisheries Development Commissioner at Ministry of Maritime Affairs, The Minister said that we had no FDC Fisheries Development Commissioner for the last ten years which shows our non serious attitude towards the marine industry in the past.
He highlighted the lack of human resource in the fields of the deep sea and coastal management as a major challenge.
"Pakistan is a committed member of Indian Ocean Tuna Commission IOTC regime for the preservation and management of Tuna Fish and tuna like species. Globally, the industry of fisheries has been beneficial for the overall economy of the states. But our human resource incapacity in tandem with lack of understanding on maritime issues has left us behind in the marine industry", he added.
While referring to Holy Quran's repeated scripts on the benefits of marine industry and blue economy, the Minster said that we have polluted our ocean and destroyed not only our coastal belt but also marine life.
The Indian Ocean has sixteen species of Tuna Fish including Tuna like species. Pakistan has been a member of IOTC since 1995 and for the very first time this conference was held in Pakistan. Four-day international conference was attended by a number of international delegates, including Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Srilanka, Thailand, India, European Union, Iran, Maldives, France, Tanzania etc. The Minister welcomed all the participants.
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