By Fatima Saka
Experts in fisheries and aquaculture on Thursday urged the girl-child to carve a niche in the field both academically and business wise.
They made this call at an event organised by the Ocean Ambassadors Foundation (OAF) to celebrate the 2022 International Day of the Girl-Child in Lagos.
The theme for the 2022 International Day of the Girl-Child is entitled: ”What is Fisheries and Acquaculture? Is it a career for the Girl-Child?”
Mrs Funmi Shelika, President, AWFishnet Nigeria, said in carving a niche for fisheries and aquaculture the girls needed to research to know their strength and area to focus.
Shelika listed some of the areas to focus as producers, processors, marketers, feed millers and sellers. “Fisheries and aquaculture is a career for a girl-child both academics and business wise, the only issue is for them to know their interest, research and get a mentor in that line.
“Leveraging on technology, business management training are very important to help them succeed,” she said.
Shelika said Nigeria had the largest number of people producing fish but the major problem was not just to produce the fish but doing it right so that it would be fit for consumption.
The Director of Fisheries, Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), Mr Emmanuel Audu, said that the fisheries sector contributed significantly to the national economy.
Audu said, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, fisheries contributed about 3.24 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in quarter one 2021 and artisanal fisheries sub-sector employing about three million people.
“Some of the investment opportunities in fisheries and aquaculture are breeding of fingerlings, production of table sized fish, processing and packaging of fish for local and export market and others.
“For industrial fisheries investment opportunities are: fish brokering, processing, marketing, boat building, trawler ownership and others,” he said.
Mrs Ezinne Azunna, another fishery expert, said that fisheries and aquaculture should be part of secondary school curriculum so that it would make it visible at an early stage.