The Federal Government has big plans to increase its total fish production. Nigeria is producing only 1.1 Metric Tonnes (MT) of fish, while the demand for fish in the country is 3.6 MT. But pressure from a global network of illegal and unsustainable fishing activities – and the inability to reverse collapsing fishing infrastructure – is weighing heavily against projected catch volumes. Hence, the government faces tall order to reform and expand the fisheries sector with dilapidated fishing jetties and terminals across the place, DANIEL ESSIET reports.
Fresh fish is a protein source Nigerians crave. It is widely available and local. But the infrastructure to support commercial fishing which produces fresh fish is under threat. The rapid decline in marine resources has prompted concerns not only over future supplies of seafood and the nation’s dried fish breakfast but also about the communities that depend on fish to survive. In its current National Development Plan, the Federal Government is also anticipating to increase fish production.
At the moment, Nigeria is producing only 1.1 Metric Tonnes (MT) of fish, while the total demand for fish in the country is 3.6 MT.
Therefore, the situation calls for aggressive investment in fisheries to boost the economy and encourage export adding that the country is leaving a deficit of about 2.5MT to be bridged by importation. For watchers, the government’s fishery production target will require the launch of a modern fish farming industry. Aside from this, modern fishing vessels are expected to play an important role in expanding wild capture marine fish production in future as most fishermen currently rely on traditional fishing methods.
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Sabo Nanono said following federal government’s effort to encourage local production, Nigeria may stop fish importation in 2022. The minister spoke while receiving a delegation from the National Fish Association of Nigeria (NFAN) led by its National President, Gabriel Ogunsanya, in Abuja.
But the Federal Government’s ambitious goals are running against mounting obstacles hampering the growth of the nation’ fisheries sector.
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For example, the World Bank reported that West Africa fisheries, including Nigeria have been seriously impacted by illegal fishing estimated at $100 million across the region.
The report said the era of bountiful fishing in Nigeria waters was in steep decline, following high levels of illegal fishing, often from foreign vessels, and declining fish stock, as well as a lack of management and infrastructure.
In addition to illegal fishing, many West African countries, lack the necessary fishing port infrastructure to allow industrial-scale fishing vessels to land their catch. Indeed, in some areas in Nigeria, industrial fishing for local processing has nearly collapsed.
Collaborating ting this, many experts have linked to the stunted growth of the fisheries sector to the absence of well-equipped fishing jetties and inadequate repair and maintenance services.
For instance, there have been calls for the government to take over Ebughu and Ibaka terminals in Mbo Council in Akwa State. The two fishing terminals were in existence before the creation of Akwa Ibom State in 1987. But successive governments at the state and federal levels reportedly paid little or no attention to the facilities. A lecturer in the Fisheries Department, University of Uyo (UNIUYO), Dr Mfon Udoh called for the taking over and reactivation of Ebughu Fishing Terminal and construction of more jetties by the state government to serve as an encouragement to fish farmers to operate at an optimal level.
He attributed the dearth of standard jetties and storage facilities for boats to berth and preservation of fish as the militating factors for the high cost of fish and crayfish in the state.
The Federal Government has promised to resuscitate the Ebughu fishing terminal. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Ita Penang, said the Ebughu fishing terminal has fish processing, ship maintenance and dry dockyard facilities, promising to relate with the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to ensure that vessels which have goods for the South-East and the South-South are diverted to the port.
The SSA decried a situation in which fishing vessels from Europe came into the territorial waters of Nigeria and fish for prawns and all kinds of marine life, take them back to Europe and other countries, process them and send them back to Nigeria.
He promised to draw the attention of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to the area so that the issue would be resolved once and for all.
It is not only in Akwa Ibom that there are problems at most fishing jetties. Across the country as fishers confront lack of facilities such as a shelter as well as taps and toilets, making working conditions tougher. Some of the jetty’s wooden planks are broken. Currently, there are no modern fishing jetties in Warri, Koko and Sapele. Fishermen have been struggling to make a living due to dilapidated fish landing jetties and fishermen’s sheds. The fishing jetties were built on the foundation of commercial fishing. Fishing fleets provided harvested seafood to sustain the facilities.
So far, commercial fishing in the Niger Delta has faced with the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to keep fishers and residents of fishing areas safe from attacks.
Also, oil spills on a 27,000 square-mile region of swamps, creeks and mangrove forests in the Niger Delta region has added to the challenges of the fishing communities.
In Sapele, community members now do their fishing outside of the river and streams which have become polluted because of oil drilling and associated activities.
Fishing boats lay abandoned after years of oil spills. Pollution has ravaged the delta’s marine ecology, with a rapid decline in catches of fish, shrimp, crayfish and other species of aquatic life.
Experts expressed concerns over the absence of safer transport and services to some fishing islands and strengthening the nation’s management of its fisheries.
A Professor of Fishery Biology at the Institute of Oceanography, University of Calabar, Cross River State, Udeme Enin, said the economy needed new jetties to improve the livelihoods of the fishers and attract increased economic activity in fishing.
He said jetties will facilitate the landing of marine products by fishers in the industry, by providing deeper berthing and more working area for the fishing fleet.
According to him, jetties are economic drivers in the marine sector, by meeting the requirements for fish landings.
Enin, a member, Pan-African Fish and Fisheries Association (PAFFA), called on the government to concession the existing fishing jetties in Akwa Ibom and River states to competent private operators to support the sustainable management of fisheries and improve post-harvest practices.
The fisheries expert said the industry needed state-of-the-art modern fishing ports with onshore processing facilities for value addition, modern landing sites/jetties that would facilitate not only the reduction of post-harvest losses but also improve general hygiene and safety conditions, especially for small scale fishers.
To remain competitive, he said the economy needs fishing jetties and terminals to operate efficiently while remaining responsive to challenges shaping the industry.
According to him, the fishing sector has not been able to make significant strides as some gaps and loopholes were still holding the country back from becoming a model for best practices.
Lingering challenges
Fisheries in Nigeria are in trouble, as they are in the rest of West Africa. Scaling up fishing jetties capacities are is a challenge. Central to these efforts is the risks and opportunities involved in investing in fishing infrastructure, along with needs for and potential sources of finance.
Many of the fish landing platforms where fishermen’s boats could land their fish catch were constructed many years. Some are not too hygiene for fish processing and have poor cold storage facility. In some cases, the conditions of the fishing jetties expose fishers to hazards.
Enin said the government established good jetties for handling, sorting, selling of fish.
According to him, the conditions for better handling of fish had had an absolute priority in the planning of such facilities.
Like other government projects, he noted that they were in a state where users cannot boast of an unbroken cool chain, controlled temperature and optimal logistics.
In a standard fish jetty, he explained that the fish is handled under controlled hygiene and temperature conditions – from the sea to the transport to the market.
Reports said most of the fishing jetties were in dire need of an upgrade. In some cases, the sorting bays, processing rooms are in poor shape to encourage more users.
As in other countries, he said privatisation of the fishing terminals will ensure the infrastructure remained competitive in the port network.
Former Dean, Department of Fisheries, Lagos State University (LASU), Prof Martins Anetekhai, stressed that fishing and fisheries-related activities are important sources of employment and job opportunities could grow if important fisheries resources are developed.
According to him, efforts to boost fisheries development are critical to help promote the development of sustainable fishing and provide the necessary infrastructure to increase the supply of fishery products across the country.
He said increasing fisheries development programmes would to boost socio-economic development among coastal fishing communities through encouraging the adoption of modern fishing technology and innovation.
The Treasurer, National Fish Association of Nigeria(NFAN), Chibunna Ubawuike, said the association is already working on establishing fish hardware which will include cold rooms, jetties and other facilities to ensure availability of healthy fish all year round in the country. He further pointed out that plans were underway to collaborate with government to ensure that the fish villages were built across the country to ensure availability. A lot of fishing communities have faced enormous challenges in rebuilding the infrastructure. Years of neglect have affected the health of jetties and landing ports, cold storage facilities, boat repair and maintenance facilities, processing factories and markets.
Yet analysts said small-scale fishing sector in Nigeria has not reached its full potential. The industry, they emphasised need support through investment, regulation, and control of its vessels, and respect for international law.
Transforming fisheries into a dynamic, high-growth sector, according to Lagos Commissioner for Agriculture Ms Abisola Olusanya, is essential for the country to speed up recovery, poverty reduction and inclusive growth.
Ms Olusanya reaffirmed his government’s commitment to seeing a revitalised, thriving fishing industry. She said the vision is a food-secure and resilient Lagos with prosperous farmers and fisherfolk.
Several projects are in the pipeline to help raise fisheries productivity, resiliency and access to markets of farmers and fisherfolk in selected domains and improve management of coastal fishery resources in selected coastal communities.
She said the ministry was collaborating with several stakeholders to expand the fishing industry, as there are ‘big plans’ in store for the sector.
She noted that collaborations would soon see the fishing industry coming more to the forefront in building the state’s economy. The Nation
