ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: An action plan under the Competitiveness Support Fund (CFS), a joint initiative of the finance ministry and the US Agency for International Development (USAID), is being prepared for the development of fisheries sector.

The Inter-Provincial Committee on the Fisheries Sector in its meeting held on Monday with Minister of State for Finance and CFS chairman Omar Ayub Khan in the chair, suggested that the intervention from the government should result in an improved commercial and business environment for the sector along with value-addition in the fish resource, said a press release issued here on Tuesday.

Representatives of the provincial departments of fisheries in Sindh and Balochistan and from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) gave presentations on their operations in the meeting.

The committee discussed several management issues faced by the fisheries sector, noting that it had not been managed effectively either by the government or by the private sector.

It was informed that the catch, especially marine capture, was declining fast and the value of the existing catch was not being maximised.

Furthermore, so-called "influential" persons dominated the industry and restricted activities, while costs were rising and incomes were falling and adversely affected poverty levels in the coastal areas of the two provinces.

In a subsequent discussion with the advisor on finance to the prime minister, Dr Salman Shah, it was agreed that the CSF plan would be implemented for capacity building, especially of the line agencies responsible for enforcement, development of infrastructure and institutions, especially at Karachi Port; benchmarking of deep-sea capture industry; and increased transparency and improved coastal management.

Work on the plan to be undertaken by a fisheries expert from January-March 2007, it would be based on secondary resources and studies already available to the concerned authorities.

A preliminary report would be provided for review to the minister by mid-February 2007.

The plan would provide provincial governments and Minfal with specific tasks for deliverables to be implemented over two years, while those for coastal management would be implemented over five years at least.