By Irfan Ahmed ISLAMABAD, Jan. 31 (INP-WealthPK): Pakistan is blessed with a long coastline where different varieties of seafood are found, providing a source of subsistence to tens of thousands of families in the Sindh and Balochistan provinces. According to estimates, 457,000 fishermen and their families are dependent on fishing for their livelihoods along the coastal areas of Pakistan. However, the fisheries business in the Pakistani seas is largely carried out by the people living along the coastlines. Since they have no training and modern know-how, their lot has not changed for the better despite in the business for decades. They largely use the primitive methods to fish, and are not given the price for their catch according to their labour. However, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor may offer something better to them, by building their capacities and equipping them with modern fishing techniques. They can also be moulded towards aquaculture farming to enhance their earnings as this sector has great potential to help the country not only meet its domestic needs but also increase the seafood exports. It is worth mentioning here that China is one of the largest importers of fish varieties from Pakistan. The main aquatic categories of Pakistan’s exports to China include ribbon fish, croakers, sole fish, etc. It is to note that aquaculture now accounts for roughly one-third of the world’s total supply of food fish. Though aquaculture has begun in Pakistan with the emergence of fish hatcheries operated by the public sector, there has to be big strides made towards having the number increased drastically with both the foreign and local investments. The share of fisheries sector to Pakistani’s GDP is currently 1%, and the sector employs the same percentage of the country's total labour force. The country needs to significantly increase the number of the fish farms, which currently stands at 13,000, to increase not only the production volumes and but also the number of jobs. The seafood exports during the financial year 2020-21 recorded $415 million against the exports of $406.6 million during the FY2019-20, showing a growth of 2.6%, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. In terms of quantity, Pakistan exported 171,206 tonnes of seafood during the FY2020-21 against the exports of 161.080 tonnes in FY2019-20, showing an increase of 6.29%. The country is exporting 30% of the total fish catch to 30 different countries. source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics For the inland fish farming, farmers need a good, cheap and easily-available aqua feed, which can easily be made available with the help of the Chinese investments. As for breeding, Chinese investors can bring the new Chinese fish breeds to Pakistan and set up their farms, hatcheries and sell these and their eggs to the farmers. As per a World Bank study, of the 65 million tonnes of seafood consumed in China, only 15 million tonnes are caught from the wild, and the rest of 50 million tonnes are raised through aquaculture farming. Chinese investors and experts can largely help Pakistan lay a robust aquaculture infrastructure in the specific areas and build capacities for the people associated with the business. Similarly, young entrepreneurs can be encouraged to explore aquaculture by getting training. The farming of highly-valued Tilapia fish, which is considered a cash cow for the aquaculture fisheries sector, also requires latest technology, which can be gotten from China.