Beef steak of the Sea
Daily Times, October 7, 2012
It is very unfortunate that marine resources in Pakistan are being pillaged by smugglers. At a gross loss to the national exchequer and national fishery resources, most of the country’s highly prized tuna is being smuggled to Iran. Yellow fin tuna, which is highly valued as the ‘beef steak of the sea’, continues to be fished indiscriminately and smuggled out to Iran where it is smoked or canned and sold as a healthy substitute for beef. Shoals of yellow fin tuna or dhawwan, as it is called locally, occur in the pelagic zones of Makran coast and rank next to the blue fin tuna and albacore, which are highly valuable fish eaten raw as a delicacy in the form of sashimi or sushi in Japan. It is a pity that our tuna, sharks and other precious fish are being pillaged through relentless smuggling due to the lack of good fishery management and control. Not only are our seas being exhausted of their valuable fishery stocks, nothing is being contributed by such smuggling to the national interest or the nutritional requirements of our people.
Mazhar Butt
