Meals Through Maritime: Challenges and Opportunities of Pakistan’s Fisheries Sector

Abstract

This paper attempts to outline the potential of Pakistan's fisheries sector in supporting food security, its contribution towards economic development, and to tackling the emergent challenges of human security. The country is reasonably well endowed with a marine ecosystem, but there are strong barriers that face the full exploitation of fisheries resources. These are environmental burdens causing degradation; overfishing; and poor and inadequate infrastructure. The objective of this research is to assess the potential of Pakistan’s fisheries sector in contributing to food security and economic development, while examining the key challenges of environmental degradation, overfishing, and inadequate infrastructure, and to propose policy recommendations through the lens of human security theory and regional comparative experiences. This research discusses the importance of increasing contributions to reducing food insecurity in more than 20% of the population through provision of a sustainable source of protein and improving livelihoods in coastal communities. Comparative successes include that of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, where aquaculture has been integrated into their economies and improved food security. The research will also draw findings from the context of Barry Buzan's human security theory to set out the issues of stability related to the welfare of humankind in regard to food, the economy, and environment. Using qualitative research techniques, expert consultations, and secondary data, this paper concludes into action initiatives and policy recommendations on the issues the fisheries sector of Pakistan faces.