KARACHI, Jan 28: A three-member delegation from Russia visited the Karachi Fish Harbour on Monday to explore the possibility of joint ventures in the fisheries sector.

The delegation exchanged views with the officials on the role of fisheries sector in the national trade.

The chairman, Karachi Fisheries Harbour Authority, Syed Tayyab Naqvi, who is also the chairman of Fishermen Cooperative Society, briefed the delegation about the achievements of the sector during the past few years.

He said both the coastal as well as the deep-sea sectors had been playing a vital role in the development of national fisheries sector.

Highlighting the role of coastal fisheries, which largely depends on traditional wooden boats, Mr Naqvi said there were 2500 wooden-boats operating in the coastal areas and 300,000 people were engaged in the sector, besides 4000 people involved in ancillary business.

Out of the 29 processing units, 24 are operational and 24 of them had been cleared by the EU countries, he said.

Mr Naqvi said Pakistan exported seafood to 61 countries which included 21 EU countries besides the USA, Japan, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arab and other countries in the Middle East.

He said despite the fact that after the Sept 11 events Pakistan’s exports received a major setback, efforts were being made to achieve the target of 140 million dollars.

Briefing the delegation about the deep-sea policy of the government, director-general Marine Fisheries Department Mohammad Raza said that Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese were keenly interested in importing ribbon and other value-added species.