LAHORE: The government of Punjab is setting up a number of fisheries and fish farms that will turn the southern region of Punjab into "a hub of fisheries".

Work is underway on construction of the "biggest fish seed hatchery in Asia" in Rajanpur, in southwestern Punjab, according to a tweet from the official account of the Punjab government.

To meet the requirement of fish seeds of fish farmers in Bahawalpur, the fisheries department has provided five million fish seeds for the private and public sectors.

The provincial government has also set up fish farms on an area of 500 acres in Derawar, Bahawalpur in an attempt to develop fisheries there.

Additionally, a hatchery is being established in Muzaffargarh for breeding fish in salt water.

The recorded consumption of fish and fish products is the lowest in Pakistan and the highest in Sri Lanka in the South Asian region, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in Dec last year.

The national consumption figure, based on the household consumption survey of 2011, was 0.6kg.

The FAO survey report attributed the low figure to the tendency to export much of the fish production and the low purchasing power of a majority of the country’s citizens.

Pakistan’s seafood exports in 2014-15 stood at 140,639 tonnes ($349.5m) compared to 150,498 tonnes ($369m) in 2013-14. The average unit price in FY15 was $2.49 per kg versus $2.45 in the preceding year.

Follow Dawn Business on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.

Opinion

Editorial

Hard habits
Updated 30 Mar, 2025

Hard habits

Their job is to ensure that social pressures do not build to the point where problems like militancy and terrorism become a national headache.
Dreams of gold
30 Mar, 2025

Dreams of gold

PROSPECTS of the Reko Diq project taking off soon seem to have brightened lately following the completion of the...
No invitation
30 Mar, 2025

No invitation

FOR all of Pakistan’s hockey struggles, including their failure to qualify for the Olympics and World Cup as well...
New CEC?
Updated 29 Mar, 2025

New CEC?

The ruling parties should avoid getting involved in another controversy around the ECP.
Balochistan violence
Updated 29 Mar, 2025

Balochistan violence

How long can the state allow this unending cycle of violence in Balochistan to continue?
Turkiye protests
29 Mar, 2025

Turkiye protests

DAILY protests have continued in Turkiye since the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on March 19. While the...