Summary:

The concept of a blue economy is related to the economy generated through the means of water, mainly to achieve a sustainable economy. In 2007 the European Union banned Pakistan from exporting fishes due to unhygienic and old machinery for the preservation of the fish. Later on it was lifted but still work has not been done to improve the quality of the fish shipment.

The introductory chapter talks about Pakistan’s potential and CPEC as a blessing to Pakistan. It has a rich exclusive economic zone (EEZ), major ports, fisheries, minerals, living organisms that are yet to be discovered, and challenges which are faced by Pakistan’s maritime domain such as maritime terrorism, piracy, human smuggling, and pollution. The later chapters introduce the table explanation of Pakistan’s fishing industry, the living resources in detail. The chapters also included the challenges in depth and how to counter them. Moreover, the interest of major powers such as US, China in the Indian Ocean region is described in the text eminently. The author has concluded various organizations’ establishment linked with the maritime security domain such as IMO, SOLAS, UNCLOS etc.

In the conclusion remarks the author has revised and put pressure on Pakistan’s maritime policies to be revised. The neo-realism theory by the author states the country to survive by securing its interests and Pakistan should act as a rational actor in the international arena. Solve the Sir Creek issue which is needed to be resolved by track 2 diplomacy. Pakistan needs a revised policy regarding maritime. Regional cooperation is required. The NMDCP (National Maritime Contingency Plan) must be produced to combat maritime disasters.

Although the author has removed some of the sea blindness for the readers, and the author’s book is a little effort towards it. He has used fundamental language which is understandable to every reader. Still, he has mentioned that he has left a research gap in his book for further researchers. The author has managed to mention all of the challenges, and opportunities and bind the recommendations perfectly, but he has not mentioned the ways through which Pakistan can extract the minerals from the sea as Pakistan is a weaker state in terms of economy. Also, he has not addressed how to take the locals in trust for the maritime blue economy initiatives as we all know that people in Baluchistan are vulnerable to the threat of non-state actors and recent attacks on CPEC have created a vacuum between the people and the government.