An economic analysis of the fisheries sector of Pakistan (1950-2017): Challenges, opportunities and development strategies

The research article presents an overview of the production of Pakistan fisheries sector for the period 1950-2017 and the trade of fishery products from 1980-2011. The results obtained based on economic analysis, reveals that the fish production and export gradually increased year by year. Although, the progress of growth rate of fish production noticed in last two decades was very low as compared to other developing countries. The study also depicts that inland aquaculture production is increasing rapidly beyond marine aquaculture in Pakistan. On the contrary, there is no existence and support of marine aquaculture practices yet to increase fish production. The study describes and proposes the recommendations for security of fisheries sector and the future development opportunities for coastal and non-coastal communities. In Pakistan, fish production through aquaculture has emerged as the utmost potential way to meet fish demand, food security, livelihood, employment and national GDP. In addition, it is an urgency to emphasize on marine aquaculture to rehabilitate marine fishery resources, which can create livelihood opportunities in the coastal regions. In conclusion, the fundamental concept of this article is to propose developmental strategies for authorities to develop and expand aquaculture sector, which could render various opportunities to support livelihood in Pakistan.