Experts Seek More Proactive Measures To Combat IUU In Nigeria

Oluchi Chibuzor

Experts in the maritime sector have called for more proactive measures to combat the negative effect of Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities affecting the emerging blue economy of the country.

This, they stated, is because IUU fishing is a major threat to ocean ecosystems worldwide, undermining efforts to sustainably manage global fisheries and effectively conserve ocean biodiversity. 

They equally maintained that Nigeria’s IUU Fishing Index position still shows the need to develop more stringent monitoring to improve the ranking.

The IUU Fishing Index is a tool designed to provide a better understanding of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing worldwide and It is also a significant economic and social disruptor detrimental to the legal fishery trade and has been linked to organized crime. 

Speaking at a Maritime Business Roundtable Breakfast Meeting on Fishing and Fisheries, organized by Zoe Maritime Resources Limited, in Lagos, the President of Nigerian Trawler Owners Association (NITOA), Mrs Ben Okonkwo, noted that IUU fishing poses a direct threat to food security and socioeconomic stability in Nigeria.

According to her, “countries that depend on fisheries for food security and export suffer from the depletion of marine resources. IUU reduces the chances of providing adequate measures for the sustenance of the ecosystem and the biodiversity of the marine environment.”

Also speaking, the Secretary General of Women in Maritime of West and Central Africa (WIMoWCA), Mrs Nneka Obiayor, stated that only 160 fishing trawlers are registered and flagged in Nigeria.

According to her,  “We have just 160 fishing trawlers flagged in Nigeria, this is a far cry from what we used to have several years ago. However, the collaboration that we have with the Federal Department of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture, before you bring a fishing trawler for registration, you must obtain necessary documents from the ministry.

“We have also made it mandatory that any vessel with over 100GT must have IMO number, without this, you cannot fly the Nigerian flag. Sadly, Nigeria does not have a fishing terminal, some.years back, we were getting it right, we had two in Akwa Ibom, a few years ago, the government promised to resuscitate one in Akwa Ibom.”

However, in her welcome remarks, the Chairman, Zoe Maritime Resources Limited, Mrs. Oritsematosan Edodo-Emore stressed that Nigeria’s vast coastline and her Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has immeasurable fish resources which ordinarily should transform her economy if properly harnessed.

According to her, “The records show that there has been a steady decline in local catch and production of fish in Nigeria. In the 1970’s domestic production of fish was said to range from 600,000 to 700,000 tons By 1983 this dropped to $38.00 tons in 2000, local catch was 441,337 and today the figure is no better. Responsibility for this decline has been laid at the feet of IUU fishing. This involves trawlers coming from other jurisdictions to sweep the Nigerian coast not only of sizeable fish supplies but also her juveniles.”

For the Vice President, Fisheries Society of Nigeria, Dr. Olalekan Oguntade, said there was a dire need for sufficient up-to-date data on IUU fishing to be able to analyze the extent of the menace and the best approach to address it.

On his part, the Chief Research Officer, Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), Mr. Williams Akanbi stressed that some of the statistics released by several international organizations are fabricated as there were no reports from the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to substantiate the alleged high-degree of IUU fishing in the country.