A Potential Powerhouse for Economic Growth

Fakhar-e-Alam

Peshawar: In the heart of Peshawar’s historic Ghanta Ghar, the fish trade is quietly becoming an important source of livelihood for a growing number of people, while rising demand for seafood at weddings, hotels and other gatherings is creating new opportunities for the city’s traders.

Among them is 40-year-old Barukat Ali, who entered the business nearly 18 years ago after failing to secure a government job. On a busy Saturday afternoon, he was racing to pack a large order for a marriage hall in Gul Bahar, assisted by three labourers, as his brother unloaded fresh fish at the Ghanta Ghar fish market, established in 1980.

With prices of sacrificial animals and chicken meat rising sharply, Ali said seafood was increasingly finding its way onto menus at wedding and birthday celebrations in Peshawar and other parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Growing demand from hotels has further strengthened the market.

“Today, I am living a dignified life and providing employment to three other people,” Ali said, wiping perspiration from his face as rickshaws and customers filled the busy market around him.

The growth of the fish trade also highlights the wider economic potential of the fisheries sector in KP. According to fisheries officials, the sector provides direct and indirect employment to between 200,000 and 300,000 people.

Director Fisheries Zubair Khan said Pakistan possessed extensive marine and freshwater resources capable of supporting a wide variety of aquatic species. He said 531 fish species were reared in the country, including 233 freshwater species found in rivers, lakes and ponds in KP.

Pakistan has around 60,470 hectares of freshwater ponds and approximately 110,000 hectares of natural warm-water lakes, he said. The Malakand and Hazara divisions, along with Kurram district, offer particularly favourable conditions for trout farming because of their cold temperatures and water resources.

Yet, despite this potential, fish remains a relatively small part of the Pakistani diet. Fish consumption accounts for only about one percent of overall food consumption, with per capita consumption estimated at around 2kg a year compared with a global average of 17kg.

Professor Dr Muhammad Naeem, chairman of the Economics Department at the University of Swabi, described fish farming as a potentially lucrative sector capable of creating employment and generating income for rural communities.

He said Pakistan’s seafood exports earned more than Rs12.40 billion during the last fiscal year and argued that exports could grow further through improved connectivity and trade with China and other neighbouring countries.

Official figures cited by the expert show that Pakistan’s total fish production rose substantially over the past decade, from about 477,000 metric tonnes in 2016-17 to approximately 701,726 metric tonnes in 2019-20. However, production subsequently faced pressure from overfishing and the depletion of rivers, ponds and other water resources.

With population growth continuing, the country could require an additional 53,000 metric tonnes of fish production by 2030, highlighting the need for greater investment in aquaculture and sustainable fisheries management.

But alongside economic opportunity, the sector faces serious environmental threats.

The indigenous shermai fish, found mainly in the River Kabul, is increasingly vulnerable to water pollution, overfishing and climate change. Zubair Khan said the species was particularly sensitive because it required higher levels of dissolved oxygen for survival and breeding.

He said authorities had directed field staff to take action against illegal fishing, particularly hunting through nets and electric currents. A ban on shermai fishing and measures to prevent the discharge of contaminated industrial wastewater into the River Kabul have also been proposed to protect the species.

Trout farming, another promising segment of the sector, has suffered its own setbacks. Usman Ali, general secretary of the Swat Trout Fish Farming Association, said around 220 trout and carp farms in Swat Valley were damaged during the devastating 2022 floods and called for a compensation package for affected farmers.

He said a farmer with 50 marlas of land and an adequate water inflow and outflow system could produce around 3,000kg of trout within 15 to 18 months and potentially earn about Rs2.5 million in profit. Quality breeding, he added, could further improve production.

According to fisheries officials, the government has already initiated several projects aimed at expanding trout and cold-water fisheries. Ninety-three trout farms have been established in Hazara and Malakand under a 50:50 cost-sharing arrangement between farmers and the government.

A model trout hatchery established at Salathanar in Upper Swat, spread over 15 kanals, has the capacity to produce up to six million fish seeds annually.

A Rs1.2 billion cold-water fishery resources project, jointly funded by the federal and provincial governments, is also underway in Malakand and Hazara. The project includes the development of 297 trout lakes.

Another Rs500 million reservoir development project has been approved for the establishment of 67 carp farms and a model hatchery on 179 kanals in Swabi. The hatchery is expected to supply fish seedlings to private hatcheries and the Tarbela Dam.

Officials have also launched work on the development of fisheries resources in the merged areas, with Rs220 million allocated during the first phase. A model cold-water research centre with a fish hatchery has been established in Madyan, Swat, providing opportunities for academic research and studies into aquatic resources.

For traders like Barukat Ali, however, the fisheries economy is not measured in production statistics alone. It is reflected in the daily movement of fish through Peshawar’s markets, the labourers earning wages, farmers raising trout and the growing number of customers adding seafood to their celebrations.

The sector’s future, experts say, will depend on whether Pakistan can balance this economic opportunity with stronger conservation measures, better water management, modern aquaculture practices and sustained investment from both the public and private sectors.

For Peshawar’s fish traders, the challenge is to keep the business growing without allowing the natural resources on which it depends to disappear.

The feature was released by APP.

Pictures Credit: ThePenPK.com