KARACHI, May 15: The Sindh government has initiated a Rs290 million project to modernise fishing boats, the fish harbour and allied facilities to meet the standards laid down by the European Union to allow import of shrimps from Pakistan.

The EU banned shrimps imports from Pakistan in January 2007 for not meeting the required standards.

The project includes modification of fishing boats at the cost of Rs102 million and Rs122 million for provision of equipment including ice boxes to fishermen boats.

Sources at the Sindh livestock and fisheries department told Dawn on Thursday that it has provided plastic boxes to the boat owners for handling fish. Another EU requirement is that the storage tanks in the boats should have fibre coating so that the shrimps do not touch the wood, which might contain bacteria.

The main focus of the project is to modify the boats in accordance with the EU standards, which also provide that each boat should have wash basin with soaps so that fishermen must wash their hands before touching the catch, the sources said.

The project also involves supply of ice plants to 27 boats initially so that the catch meant for the EU should be stored under minus 2 degrees during the trip.

The EU also requires that data of the shrimps netted should be recorded before it is landed at the fish harbour. The boats returning from the fishing trip will first stop at farms, especially set up to record data about the sailing direction of the boat and exact location of netting shrimps.

The sources said that the Karachi Fish Harbour Authority had renovated its auction hall as per the EU standards and reserved it for handling of fish meant for the Europe.

Apart from the Sindh government the responsibility to make the fishing sector compatible with the EU standards also lies with the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal). The marine fisheries department has a role in getting these standards implemented by fish processing plants some of which had already been approved by the EU.

The job also involves Fishermen Cooperative Society, a representative body of fishermen, and Karachi Fish Harbour Authority responsible for maintaining hygienic standards at the fish harbour.

To a question, an official at the department said that the Sindh government had informed Minfal about upgrading of fishing being taken to meet the EU standards. He said that the department was trying hard to complete the project on a fast-track basis so that the EU team could be invited for inspection.

Export of shrimps to Europe not only fetches better value but is also a point of prestige for the country’s external trade, he added.

Meanwhile, former director of Karachi Fishermen Cooperative Society Haji Shafi Mohammad Jamote said that the Sindh government was sharing 50 per cent cost of renovation of boats with the owners to meet the fishing standards laid down by the EU.

He said that about 200 boats would be modified including upgrading their fish stock tanks.

He said that the government had started registration of boats anew to ascertain exact number of boats involved in fishing. The total number of boats registered long ago is 16,000 but many of them have become redundant.

Mr Jamote, however, urged the government to announce a fishing policy to develop and preserve shrimp stocks which are fast depleting in the sea as a result of over-fishing mainly by trawlers.