Mariculture for Pakistan

By Phil Cruver (KZO Education)
KZO has teamed with an interdisciplinary team of international scientists, ocean engineers, and educational professionals for introducing aquaculture to Pakistan. This overview Education, Collaborative Research, and Technology Transfer for a Sustainable Aquaculture Industry describes the potential benefits from an eventual aquaculture industry in Pakistan

The November 28, 2009 issue of Economist Magazine chronicles the crises in Pakistan with a briefing indicating that the majority of the population is increasingly giving up on their failing state: “Only a fifth of respondents had a full-time job. A quarter of them were illiterate – as many of their children will be, with 40% of Pakistani children out of school. And with half its 170 million people under 20, Pakistan has a lot of children and many more coming. Itspopulation, already straining the available fertile land and water, is predicted to increase by 85 million within two decades”.

The last shocking sentence evokes the need for a “Blue Revolution” to avert a looming rebellion by hordes of hungry insurgents. With over 1,000 kilometers of coastline, Pakistan is squandering its sustainable mariculture resources for feeding its teeming masses from farming fish beneath the bountiful Arabian Sea. An awareness campaign for educating Pakistani federal and provincial governments about the productivity of the ocean versus productivity of land is essential and timely. A substantial annual assistance of $1.5 billion under the Kerry-Lugar Bill for Pakistan will be invested in agriculture sector, said US Agricultural Counselor at US Embassy in Pakistan, Joseph M. Caroll.

As a source of animal protein, farmed fish are a godsend in a grain-limited world. The estimated amounts of rice or wheat needed to produce a ton of product are far more economical for fish than for pork or beef and on par with that of chicken. Whereas four kilograms of grain are required for each kilogram of pork, and seven for each kilogram of beef, only two kilograms of grain are needed to produce one kilogram of either fish or chicken.

In terms of how much of the animal is actually consumed by people, fish are also ideal: approximately 65 percent of the raw weight of finfish is eaten, compared with 50 percent of raw weight of chicken and pigs and 40 percent of sheep. This is becausefish are supported by water; thus, they don’t have to put as much of their growth energy into bones, so more of their weight is edible. Fish are also low in fat and cholesterol, and a substance found in fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids, helps reduce blood clotting and in turn the risk of heart attacks— all notable advantages over other meats.

USAID should evoke a “Blue Revolution” emulating the agricultural Green Revolution launched nearly half a century earlier, which doubled wheat yields in Pakistan between 1965 and 1970. Funding research aimed at genetically modifying fish to resist disease, grow faster, taste better, and thrive in highly controlled environments would provide a nutritious and new source ofprotein for a burgeoning population.

Consider: In 1993, researchers announced that they had successfully cultivated a strain of tilapia that grows 60 percent faster than its wild cousin and World Bank officials called it the “aquatic chicken.” Shrimp are a perfectprotein delivery system, comprised of a head and carapace that twist off easily revealing a muscle that can be cooked in a few minutes. USAID has funded a hatchery in Sonmiani for developing sustainable, biosecure, and cost-effective management practices for the production of edible shrimp. Over 100,000 shrimp farms flourish globally generating $14 billion in revenue.

Recent scientific advances and genetic engineering promise to propel oysters as “Soybeans of the Sea” and Pakistan has 9 species of native oysters for providing huge amounts ofprotein, loaded with vitamins, stocked with omega-3 fatty acids and replete with minerals.

Feeding hordes Pakistanis from protein of indigenous shellfish begs the discussion of Halal, a term used to designate food permissible according to Islamic law. While many Muslims eat shellfish, there is debate among Quran scholars who consider shellfish as something that’s not forbidden, but is makhruh – not a recommended act.

Awareness, education, and training are critical components for Pakistan to participate in the Blue Revolution. With $7.5 billion in USAID assistance over the next 5 years, this sixth most populated country on the planet could not only feed its denizens, but also emerge as an exporter for the $100 billionaquaculture industry that is the fastest growing food-production sector for feeding a global population of 9 billion in 2050.

Footnote:
Oysters also perform a vital function for sustaining healthy aquatic systems by eating algae. A single adult oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day allowing sunlight to penetrate so that foundations of the food chain can thrive. Ecologically, they serve as indicators of overall health of the environment and, in the form of oyster beds, provide habitats for attracting fish, crustaceans and other marine life. Furthermore, oysters are environmentally sustainable on their own since they do not require fish feeds, compete with wild species for food, nor consume moreprotein than they produce. Moreover, oysters are a keystone species: if they thrive, others will too.