The Nigerian fishing industry is indeed a sector struggling to survive and possibly on the verge of collapsing as it seems little, or no attention has been paid to the sub-sector over the years. In this piece, ANOZIE EGOLE looks at some of the challenges the sector is having and the possible way forward.
There is no gain in saying that the aquatic lives in Nigerian waterways are under threat and may face extinction if the fishing sector is not addressed, and regulated and more attention is given to the fight against illegal fishing.
Findings by the PUNCH have shown that about two decades ago, Nigeria as a country had about 250 vessels for fishing on the nation’s waterways, but is very sad to note that illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has reduced these vessels to 150 currently.
At different gatherings, stakeholders in the fishing, maritime and agricultural sectors have often said that the negative effect of illegal, unreported, unregulated fishing activities may affect the emerging blue economy of Nigeria, even as they proffer actionable solutions for the Federal Government.
In a recent telephone conversation, the President of the Nigerian Trawler Owners Association, Mrs Ben Okonkwo, said that not only that the country was losing about $100m annually to the challenges in the fishing sector, but illegal and unregulated fishing poses a direct threat to food security and socioeconomic stability in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
She said that developing countries that depended on fisheries for food security and export suffered from the depletion of marine resources.
Okonkwo added that the challenge had also reduced the chances of providing adequate measures for the sustenance of the ecosystem and the biodiversity of the marine environment.
“First and foremost, years back, about two decades ago, we had about 250 trawler vessels operating but today, we now have about 150 vessels. This is the first sign to tell you that there is a decline in that operation. I cannot say what they are losing but we can look at records of $80m to $100m loss per year.”
The NTOA president also said the high cost of automotive gas oil was affecting the sector urging the government to address that area.
She said that AGO took 75 per cent of their operational cost.
“The major problem we have is AGO. The prices have gone up and no one is doing anything about it. We have several Nigerian regulators looking at that thereby frustrating us. Our operation is 75per cent based on AGO.”
Another major challenge the sector is facing, according to Okonkwo, is the inability of the practitioners to have their operational terminals.
However the Chairman of Zoe Maritime Resources Limited, Mrs Oritsematosan Edodo-Emore, in a chat recently in Lagos, said that Nigeria’s vast coastline and her exclusive economic zone had immeasurable fish resources which ordinarily should transform her economy if properly harnessed.
She believed that due to these numerous unaddressed challenges in the sector, the local demand for fish far outweighed the supply, adding that there was a constant demand for fish and fish products which should keep the local fishing industry buoyant.
She said, “The records show that there has been a steady decline in local catch and production of fish in Nigeria.’’
Domestic production of fish was said to range from 600,000 to 700,000 tons by 1983. But this has dropped local catch was 441,337 and today the figure is no better. Responsibility for this decline has been laid at the feet of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. This involves trawlers coming from other jurisdictions to sweep the Nigerian coast not only of sizeable fish supplies but also her juveniles,” she said.
Edodo-Emore argues that as Nigeria begins to develop its blue economy, the challenges of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing must be tackled headlong.
The Vice President of the Fisheries Society of Nigeria, Dr Olalekan Oguntade, in a recent event, said there was a serious need for sufficient up-to-date data on fishing to be able to analyse the extent of the menace and the best approach to address it.
“On IUU Fishing, there should be a NEEDS assessment of the industry. We equally need to protect the artisanal fishing industry which is where most riverine communities operate,” he said.
The PUNCH recently reported that fishermen in Akwa Ibom State had decried incessant attacks by gunmen suspected to be sea pirates in Ibeno Local Government Area of the state, and called for urgent intervention by the government to save fishing business in the state.
The fishermen said that following the recent attacks, they aware afraid of going into the sea for a fishing expedition. The group said that no fewer than 50 boat engines belonging to their members had been seized by the hoodlums between December 2022 to April 2023.
The fishermen had on different occasions lamented that they have lost many of their engines to the attacks by these people.
A fisherman, Golden Ogungbemi, told our correspondent that the fishing business in the area was gradually crippled.
“Our major problem is the issue of sea pirates. They have been unleashing mayhem on fishermen to the extent that we are no longer going to the sea. The situation is so bad. Whenever fishermen go to the sea they confront you at gunpoint and seize your outboard engines. In March alone, that’s last month, fishermen lost about 30 pieces of outboard engines to the sea pirates. Just this month of April, they came again and dispossessed the fishermen of about 20 pieces of outboard engines. Each engine is about N3m. This has been a recurring decimal. We have been facing this situation for the past 10 years. Some of the fishermen have been kidnapped and ransom demanded and paid. Most times we pay up to N500,000 for the sea pirates to release our engine to us. We are calling on the state government to save our business”.
Stakeholders believe that until the right things are done, the country will continue to lose hugely on the endowed aqua resources. They also opined that there was an urgent need for fishing terminals in Nigeria especially, in Lagos State.
There is no gain in saying that the irregularities in the fishing sector had got to an alarming stage that if allowed to remain unchecked the country may soon run out of fish as many of our fish may go into extinction.
There is also a need for a proper sensitization of our security agents on waters attached to some of these oil firms to also ensure that these fishermen are protected as some have accused these security agents of only guiding these oil firms and abandoning them even in the face of attacks by these pirates.
Okonkwo urged the Federal Government to do more to grow the fishing industry in Nigeria.
She called on the need for the establishment of fishery terminals in Lagos where about 95 per cent of the industrial fishing operators are based.
She urged the government to resuscitate the Export Expansion Grant scheme to make it more robust workable and transparent.
She lamented that trawler operators were burdened with overzealous government agencies overseeing sea fishing which appeared detrimental to the growth of the industry as a veritable source of local fish supply and foreign exchange earnings for the country.
She said “There is the need for the government to sit down with NITOA to chart a common course to harmonize the processes and procedures to attract more local and foreign direct investments. Other areas that government must look into include the high cost of statutory registration and renewals of Trawlers particulars from the regulatory agencies. Occasional Pirate attacks at high sea lead to loss of lives and property as well as damage to vessels and machines. Furthermore, the relevant research institutes should redirect their focus towards stock assessment” she stated.
A source who doesn’t want his name on papers said, “Sadly, Nigeria does not have a fishing terminal, some years back, we are now getting it right. We had two in Akwa Ibom, a few years ago, the government promised to resuscitate one in Akwa Ibom. But beyond the talk that we do all the time, it behooves on the trawler owners to push that such things should happen. If Ghana can have a fishing terminal, why won’t Nigeria? This is the only way we can grow our fishing and blue economy which has become the focus of the nation.”
However, it is believed that with the feat recorded so far by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, in the fight against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria’s fishing industry will soon bounce back on the part of recovery.
We must also not fail to appreciate that this effort by NIMASA towards fighting piracy has gradually restored hope and confidence to these fishers.
The Director General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, had in 2022 said that Nigeria was committed to sustaining the momentum of the success recorded in recent times in the fight against piracy in the region.
The IMB in its half-year report of 2022 has lauded the reduction in piracy in the globe and expressed optimism that it is a new dawn for the shipping community globally.
Jamoh, while commenting on this, said that the reduction was a direct result of collaboration amongst national, regional and non-regional stakeholders.
