First-ever indigenous shrimp harvesting project completes

LAHORE:The first-ever indigenous shrimp harvesting around 120 metric ton was completed from the pilot project started by the Punjab government and shrimps were exported to China, UAE, Jordon and Vietnam.

The pilot project was started on the instructions of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz who also visited the project site of 100-acre shrimp farms in district Muzaffargarh. The first harvest was completed in 104 days and shrimps were auctioned at Rs154million to the local exporters who export them to China, UAE, Jordon and Vietnam.

Secretary Fisheries Mudassar Malik said the project was started to introduce aquaculture, particularly shrimp farming, in the province. He said the key objectives of the pilot project included research, survival and growth potential of imported shrimp seed under local environmental conditions, to analyse the feed conversion ratio and compare the performance of local versus imported shrimp feeds, develop shrimp farming techniques tailored to convert barren, saline and brackish lands into productive aquaculture areas and to provide on-site training for both departmental personnel and private farmers.

Mudassar Malik said after the success of the pilot project, the Punjab government has planned to development of shrimp aquaculture with an estimated cost of Rs4,430.490 million, which would be completed in 48 months (2024-25 to 2027-28).

Under this project, a dedicated Directorate of Fisheries for Shrimp Aquaculture will be established with a cost of Rs449.0 million, development of Shrimp Research and Training Center in Muzaffargarh with a cost of Rs 534 million), strengthening of Quality Control Labs in Lahore with a cost of Rs 95 million, strengthening acclimatisation facilities at SWARC and Muzaffargarh with a cost of Rs 64 million.

He further said that under the technical services for technology transfer, the government will hire foreign consultants for various shrimp aquaculture value chain components with a cost of Rs 363 million. Consultants included Shrimp Breeding & Nursing Experts, Shrimp Farm Design & Culture Experts, Shrimp Health Management Experts, Shrimp Processing, Food Safety & Quality Certification Experts, Market Competitiveness Experts and Human Resource/Skill Development experts.

Secretary Fisheries maintained that the human resource development and internship programmes for shrimp aquaculture value chain will be started with a cost of Rs18 million. Under the shrimp value chain development, the government will develop Shrimp Hatchery in Punjab with 3-year operational cost of Rs 1,200.0 million, he added.