Registration of private ponds, fish farms: legislation in the offing

September 19, 2012 (Daily Business Recorder) YASIR BABBAR KARACHI: In a move to compensate fish-farmers in case of any disaster in future, Sindh fisheries department has prepared a draft of law for the registration of private ponds and fish-farms, Business Recorder learnt on Tuesday. Well-informed sources told Business Recorder that authorities of Fisheries department took this kind of decision in a meeting held at in the chair of Secretary Syed Abid Ali Shah a few weeks back. The officials discussed that there are thousands of private ponds and fish farms but department has not complete data of these private ponds and fish farms while department also could not regulate these farms due to non-availability of any provincial act in this regard. They principally agreed to draft a law which would be tabled in Sindh Assembly for the final approval then Fisheries department could regulate private ponds and fish farms easily, sources said. Later, Secretary Livestock and Fisheries Syed Abid Ali Shah briefed the Minister for Fisheries Zahid Bhurigri about this new decision and he got approval of him as well, they said. When contacted, Syed Abid Ali Shah told Business Recorder that Fisheries department is ready to regulate the private ponds and fish farms through a provincial act. He said that law experts of department prepared a draft law which would be moved moved to provincial Law department for the legal opinion. Later, the bill would be moved to Sindh Assembly Secretariat to table it in session of provincial assembly, he added. Abid Shah further explained that with making of proper act, Fisheries department would start the registration process of all private ponds and fish farms of province. He said that during the floods of 2010 and heavy rains of 2011, a large number of private fish farms were damaged but the department could not made proper estimates of losses and could not compensate the fish farmers just because of lack of proper information. But, when we would register all private fish farms, the department could calculate losses in case of any disaster in future and fish farmers would be compensate easily, Shah added. In this connection, sources told that approximately 368 private fish farms were damaged which were established on 16,352 acres land. Similarly, thousands of people suffered losses of about Rs 550 million on account of destruction of poultry farms. More than 900 private poultry farms were damaged and over 2.5 million birds died or were washed away on these farms due to heavy rains of 2011. But, Sindh government had not compensated the victimised fish farmers due to non-provision of law in this regard, they concluded.