Constraint analysis of major problems facing the marine fisheries sector in accordance with the national fisheries policy of Pakistan

Abstract

Pakistan is endowed with abundant fisheries resources that have significant economic potential. Capture fisheries contribute a comparatively vital role to the national economy. However, poverty, environmental degradation and political instability are major problems for the Pakistani people, and no effective steps have been taken to handle this socioeconomically important sector efficiently in the past. Furthermore, the fisheries sector faced its own set of challenges, including the emergence of small-scale artisanal fisheries, the nonexistence of technologies, deficiency of institutional development, an absence of infrastructure, insufficient human resource skill, and a lack of responsiveness among fishing societies, all of which contributed to the sector's demise. The National Fisheries Policy (NFP) was formulated to address these problems in the fisheries sector. Potential efforts have been made by the Government of Pakistan to solve these constraints under various plans of objectives and strategy axes of the policy. Our findings indicate that despite these efforts, the fisheries sector does not show significant growth to achieve the policy goals. So, it is necessary to re-evaluate and reorient this policy for further development of this sector. It is also essential to achieve the aim of Government of Pakistan Vision 2025 to become one of the 25th largest economies in the world.