‘Aquaculture an untapped sector’

FAISALABAD: Aquaculture experts Tuesday said the country’s per capita fish consumption was only 2kg as compared to the world of 21kg annually.

The experts sated this on the occasion of the inaugural session of a seminar on aquaculture opportunities and challenges organised by Department of Zoology, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Agriculture Faisalabad. Chairing the moot, UAF Vice-Chancellor Dr Zafar Iqbal Randhawa said aquaculture was still an untapped area as there was an immense potential for development of the sector in terms of nutrition, employment, and poverty alleviation. He said the country was blessed with very rich agricultural and animal resources both terrestrial and aquatic. The VC asked the UAF scientists and experts to address problems of farming community and to develop model farm of fisheries, livestock and agriculture. Dean Faculty of Sciences Dr Muhammad Ashghar Bajwa said there were areas in fisheries sector wherein a scientific understanding, including low-cost feed formulation, preparation, production of fast growing disease-resistance fish, introduction of more species in aquaculture, improvement of post release survivor ship of fish and pond management, needed to be carried out.

He stressed the need to run fisheries and aquaculture activities on scientific lines.

The department chairman Dr Hammad Ahmad said the world fish production reached 171 million tons per annum currently. He said the seminar would come up with new avenue for the development of the sector.