Global literature highlights risks in the seafood trade and suggests mitigation methods, but these issues are often overlooked in developing countries, particularly in Pakistan, due to ineffective policy implementation. This underlines the urgent need for a thorough investigation into Pakistan’s seafood trade to address its multifaceted risks and revive this agricultural sector. This study is notable for being the first to explore these uncharted risks in Pakistan’s seafood trade, which can help achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, particularly SDG 14 (life underwater) and SDG 2 (zero hunger). Primary data were gathered from 626 respondents using snowball sampling and structured questionnaires from July 13, 2023, to December 27, 2023. The study used multi-criteria decision analysis, including fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Importance Performance Analysis (IPA), and multivariate analysis, comprising Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS), to analyze the data. The findings revealed that ‘environmental risks’ were the most significant, followed by ‘infrastructure and logistic risks’. The biggest sub-risk identified for managerial focus includes overfishing. Controlling overfishing is critical for ensuring marine conservation and reviving the seafood trade. Several sub-risks, like seafood prices, marketing strategies, consumer preferences, and tastes, are critical but never addressed in the regulations. Furthermore, risk perception mediates the relationship between risk management and risk performance. The survey respondents reported low-risk perception and inadequate management measures. Besides, this study expounds on ramifications, shortcomings, and areas for further research.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the international shipping market has been highly volatile, posing a serious threat to the survival and development of many maritime start-ups. With the development of the digital economy, digital transformation is affecting the evolution and upgrading of many traditional enterprises, including maritime enterprises. In the post-COVID-19 era, start-up small and medium-sized enterprises will need to consider the importance of enterprise risk management to achieve transformation and upgrading. The purpose of this study is to provide guidance for the establishment and upgrading of risk management systems for start-ups based on the identification of risk management strategies of maritime enterprises and the evaluation of their performance. The fuzzy analytic hierarchy process and importance-performance analysis methods were used to rank the operational risk, financial risk, market risk, innovation risk, and disaster risk according to sub-items and screen out the risk management schemes for priority improvements. Through empirical research, it was found that the financial risk and market risk response schemes have the lowest performance and need to be prioritised for improvement. This study argues that start-ups can appropriately challenge their risk management strategies to meet potential risk management needs based on their own circumstances.

The economic impact of a public emergency, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, is often reduced by micro and small businesses (MSEs) undertaking sustainability-oriented innovation for public emergencies (SOIPE), which includes production and service innovation, information innovation, marketing innovation, and labor innovation. The originality of this study lies in its prediction and evaluation of COVID-19′s challenges and SOIPE’s requirements to have a keen observation and discovery ability. In this paper, we combined nominal group technique, fuzzy analytical hierarchy process, least squares, and a case study to investigate governance, economic, financial, sociocultural, and environmental sustainability and demonstrate the MSEs’ sustainability evaluation model. In a qualitative study and literature review, MSEs were found to use SOIPE in a variety of ways. Some studies focused on marketing innovation, while others were hampered by their limited understanding. From both a theoretical and empirical perspective, this study suggests that MSEs should identify their optimal SOIPE based on the impact and volatility of a public emergency. In addition, this study presents an assessment of the impact and environmental volatility of a public emergency, as well as MSEs’ SOIPE, which is more helpful for enterprises. Finally, this study creatively introduces the SOIPE of MSEs, which has important policy ramifications.

This study examines the effects of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) on Pakistan’s seafood exports, specifically analyzing the China-Pakistan Free Trade Agreement (CP-FTA) and its stages, CP-FTAI and CP-FTAII. Using the gravity model (GM) of trade, it empirically analyzes the dynamics of seafood trade between Pakistan and its neighboring countries, aiming to provide insights into improving trade balance and export performance. The study employs three econometric approaches—Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Fixed Effects Model (FEM), and Pseudo Poisson Maximum Likelihood (PPML) to ensure the robustness and reliability of the findings. The results reveal that Pakistan’s seafood exports are significantly influenced by FTAs, particularly with Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, while CPFTA-I shows a positive impact. However, CPFTA-II exhibit negative and insignificant relationship, indicating that external shocks, like the COVID-19 pandemic, have impacted trade dynamics. The results of this study are significantly relevant to multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Notably, they contribute to SDG 8, which focuses on Decent Work and Economic Growth, by promoting trade-driven economic advancement. Furthermore, they support SDG 9, which pertains to Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure, by facilitating infrastructure development through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Additionally, they align with SDG 12, which emphasizes Responsible Consumption and Production by advocating sustainable trade practices. The study recommends enhancing FTAs, improving infrastructure, and expanding trade with neighboring markets to optimize Pakistan’s seafood export potential. Policymakers should focus on strengthening trade agreements, streamlining logistics, and integrating variables like security and exchange rates to develop more resilient and sustainable trade strategies, contributing to important SDGs.

Risks in the shipping industry have been highlighted and have attracted significant attention, especially following the bankruptcy of Hanjin in 2017. Due to the decrease in container volume, the business environment for large shipping companies in China has deteriorated. Therefore, major large shipping companies have implemented mixed ownership reform, which provides more opportunities for large Korean shipping companies to enter the Chinese shipping industry. This study first identifies risk perception, specifically focusing on the moderating effect of Chinese and Korean shipping companies, and then demonstrates the impact of these risks on shipping company performance. The results show that market, operational, and technical risks have a negative influence on Chinese shipping companies, whereas market, policy, financial, operations, and technical risks have a negative influence on Korean shipping companies. This study contributes to the fundamental understanding of the effect of risk perception on performance among shipping companies in both countries and calls for further research on risk management plans based on the risk factors identified herein. On a practical level, this study provides an important reference for operators and investors who seek to enter strategic alliances or joint venture in Chinese shipping industry.