Fish

Lagos, Oct. 25, 2023: Mr Sejiro Oke-Tojinu, the President, Lagos State Catfish and Allied Association of Nigeria (LASCAFAN), has urged the Federal Government to fund research institutions across the country to develop new species of fish.

Oke-Tojinu said on Tuesday in Lagos that the country was not doing enough in the development of new species.

He said research institutions had failed the country following lack of new development of several indigenous species.

“That is where research has failed us; research institutions need to be funded adequately.

“Our research institutes should be put on their toes with a mandate given to them so that they can do much more.

“We have two known aquaculture species, catfish and tilapia. We have several indigenous species that have high commercial value.

“We need to support research and create aquaculture development centres across the country to enable the indigenous species to be developed,” he said.

The LASCAFAN president noted that the nation was yet to tap into the potential that  aquaculture can avail.

According to him, food is very important and God has so blessed us in this country that food shouldn’t be our problem if we really harness the opportunities and potential that we have in the agric sector generally.

“The agric sector is so broad that it kept so many other sectors under it and one of such sector is the fishery sector which is a very broad sector that has a big resources.

“Unfortunately, we are yet to tap into the potential that  aquaculture can avail us as a nation.

“World over, so much is done in aquaculture and Nigeria is way behind. The resources we have in terms of water resources, natural aquatic resources, some nations of the world don’t even have it.

“We have the resources in abundance, we gave it in excess; we have several dams that are lying fallow, we have lakes, several lagoons here and there and as well as  marine water laying fallow.

“We are not doing much and a lot is taken out of this waterbodies without replacement.

“We are beginning to have decline in our catches,” he said.

Oke-Tojinu called on the government to pay more attention to the sector by increasing funding, policy formulating and technology to reverse the trend.

According to him, aquaculture has huge potential for export if well harnessed.

He said this means, “we can do so much in aquaculture, much more for ourselves and then have excess for export.

“We will have protein intake for us as a nation and once we have good protein intake definitely, the health of the citizenry is going to improve.

“Part of the thing we have been advocating for is that the sector must be given more attention which we have not been enjoying as it should.

Oke-Tojinu, however, lauded the Federal Government for the establishment of the new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy noting that it would make huge impact.

He said the association had always clamoured for a separate ministry to oversee the growth of the sector.

“Luckily one of what we have been advocating for is to have ministry of fisheries but now we have the ministries that will give us more attention, that is the new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

“As is it now, that means we are under two ministries, Ministries Agriculture and Food Security and Marine and Blue Economy.

“Now, our hopes are high to see how policies will favour the growth of aquaculture across the value chain.

“We believe that with this new ministry, there will be adequate attention given to the water aquatic resources, so we can make it more robust than it is at the moment.

“Across the value chains, everybody can be fine because with the challenges that we have, aside from research that is not adequately funded or not given the needed attention, we can do more with the little knowledge that we have in terms of producing more.

“If we produce more, it will open up more markets because a little of market linkages and value chain would be more viable in logistics, breeding and genetics, nutrition, value addition and processing.

“If all hands are on deck that means we can earn much more from fish that will in turn earn the country more through export,” he noted.

Lagos, Aug. 15, 2023: The Fisheries Association of Nigeria (FAN) says the economic challenges in the country are affecting the growth of the sector.

The President of FAN, Akwa Ibom chapter, Mr Okon Amah, said on Tuesday in Lagos that the difficulties in running fish farms were crippling the sector, adding that many farmers had been forced to close shop.

According to him, fish farmers in the country are feeling frustrated and abandoned following the difficulties they face in the sector.

”We now have to contend with the ever increasing cost of production, especially fish feed.

”This is worrisome considering that everyone eat fish in Nigeria and beyond,” Amah said.

He said the exclusion of fisheries and aquaculture sector from food security roadmap of the Federal Government was not good for the sector.

“Recently, the roadmap for food security was released in the United Nation Food Summit in Italy by the Ministry of Agriculture, and surprisingly aquaculture and fisheries were missing.

“Does it mean that the Federal Government have no single plan for an industry generating billions for other countries? Does it mean that we have no agenda for the blue economy?

“We are tired of the fact that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development usually exclude aquaculture and fisheries from their immediate attention.

”This needs a priority otherwise the adverse effects are going to be alarming,” Amah said.

He called on the Federal gGvernment to step into the situation and come to their aid.

“We are tired of reducing the price of our produce.

”Buyers discourage farmers because they know our goods are perishable, so we are forced to sell at any price just to get them off our farm, then we shutdown farm.

“We are tired of the fact that nothing is subsidised for us in spite of our continuous improvement to produce better quality protein for the country.

“Statistics has shown that about 45 per cent of Nigerians do not have access to good protein diet. This needs an urgent executive bill and the Federal Government need to step in,” he said.

Amah said the association was tired of fighting to stay afloat due to high cost of production.

He noted that fish farmers need intervention from the governments and the organised private sector for survival.

The Chief Executive Officer, Morbod Group, Mrs Margaret Orakwusi, says that fish poachers with foreign vessels fail to conform to rules and regulations on African waters.

Orakwusi disclosed on Thursday in Lagos that foreign vessels extract the bottom to the top approach without considering the future.

““They come and they have nothing at stake, they fish in the most irregular and irresponsible manner, they don’t conform to any rules and regulations and of course they are stealing,” she said.

She noted that there are certain sizes of fish that are not allowed to be caught, the juveniles and the big ones that lay the golden eggs.

Orakwusi, also the Chairman, Shipowners Forum, said that the poachers do not care about the future.

“We all know that bigger vessels come from all these world powers to poach on our resources and we may not be able to arrest them.

“The poachers have nothing at stake, they come to our waters, and they don’t care about the depletion of natural resources,” she said.

She said that Africa had lost billion of dollars to foreigners that come with big vessels.

”A very interesting question is where they find market for the stolen products from Africa because the sea has law and order.

”As one take sea food product from an environment, analysis will tell where it comes from, so the question again is who provide market for them.

“It’s an international conspiracy. For me, to have customers buying my products, they can close their eyes, identify my products and say where it’s coming from.

“”They can also say that it has passed all their stringent rules and regulations; so these other people that steal, who is providing market for them,” she asked.

Orakwusi, however, said that the country had no capacity to stop the fish poachers.

“For those of us who are licensed by different African government, we fish in a regular manner. Our activities are highly monitored, so there is no space to play games.

“What we do is highly scientific for us to be able to market our products outside Nigeria.

“We in the industrial fishing do more of shell fish, which means it’s for export market and the regulators cut across Nigeria.

”We have regulators from European Union and when you hear about regulation, it’s the toughest you can get anywhere.

“This is because right from the ship to every corner of the vessel, it must be in accordance to their standards. Even with those that work for us, their hygiene, medication, everything is highly monitored,” she said.

On dead fishes on the shorelines, Orakwusi stressed the need for constant inspection of water and products to avoid pollution.

She said that Nigeria conforms to international standard in the handling of fishes.

“So out there in the sea, there is a capacity level of freezing, handling, packaging and others. You can easily trace product from our environment.

“There are fisheries lab that the private and government sector put together to analyse products for export and since the establishment of that lab, no product has failed analysis anywhere in the world.

“I am taking time to explain this because contaminated products are not from us, otherwise our country will have been sanctioned. The question is where are they coming from, and it is from these poachers.

“They come and they have nothing at stake, they fish in the most irregular and irresponsible manner, they don’t conform to any rules and regulations and of course they are stealing,” she said.

Orakwusi added that some African countries claimed that these poachers used dynamite which had resulted in dead rotten fish at seashores.

As the demand for fish  exceeds 3.6 million metric tons but the country is only able to produce about 1.2 million metric tons, Nigeria government has registered more fishing vessles.

Mr Ime Umoh, the Director, Fisheries Department in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, made this known at the ‘ Second Dialogue with Regional Economic Communities (RECS) implementation of Fisheries Governance Project phase 2 (FISHGOV-2) on Monday, in Abuja.

The three-day dialogue is co-hosted by African Union Development Agency, AUDA-NEPAD, and African Union-InterAfrican Bureau for Animal Resources, AU-IBAR, with the support of European Union, EU.

According to Umoh, Nigerian fish industry can only produce 1.2 million metric tons of fish from industrial, artisanal and aquaculture sub-sectors.

Umoh, who said that Nigeria had benefited from Phase 1 of the FISHGOV project, and the success was glaring, expressed optimism that the Phase 2 would also boost fish production in Nigeria.

“The Minister of Agriculture has a very big passion for fishing production because we believe that fish is the cheapest source of protein and the total fish for the country is more than 3.6 metric tons.

“But we are not able to meet up this target because of some of the issues that we are going to be discussing in this dialogue.

“We are only able to produce about 1.2 metric tons in all the sub- sectors in the industrial, the aquaculture, and also the artisanal sub sector,” he said.

In the area of achievement, Umoh said the Fisheries Department had licensed 164 fishing vessels, through the Nigerian Territorial Waters and the Economic Zones.

He further said that to safeguard the health of Nigerians, the Federal Department of Fisheries had drafted inspectors to ensure importers follow due process before selling the commodity to Nigerians.

“Frozen fish is good because before frozen fish is brought into the country, we have what we call task certificate; we have to certify where are they bringing this frozen fish, what is the health status, how is being stored, we inspect the cold-room.

“We have inspectors in Lagos, Abuja and others who go there to certify that the frozen fish being brought into the country is in very good condition,” he said.

 He said that government had also installed monitoring systems in Abuja and also one in Lagos to monitor the activities of the fishing vessels.

“In the artisanal sub sector, we have been able to register the canoes and build up the capacity of artisanal farmers as well as supplying them with inputs, canoes, fishing gears and other equipment that will help them to increase their production.

“In the aquaculture sub sector, we have established what we call fish farm estates, feeds farm clusters, and other activities that will stimulate the aquaculture production in Nigeria.

“We have also intervened on the whole value chain in terms of the production, processing and also the marketing structure

“We have also provided processing equipment, storage equipment and enhanced a structured market facilities that will help the aquaculture sub sector to grow,” he said.

Speaking with newsmen, African Union Commission, AUC, Ms Panduleni Elago, promised that Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, CAADP would support artisanal fish farmers and small scale fish farmers to bridge the gap existing fish demand in Nigeria.

Elago, who is CAADP Advisor, said fish is one of the healthiest and cheapest proteins to human being.

“Fish is one of the healthiest and cheapest proteins to human being, and as we strive to end hunger in Africa by 2025, we also seek to support all those involve in the fisheries sector; small scale farmers, the non-state actors and civil societies,” he said.

The Government has therefore licenced 164 vessels to operate on territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.

Mr Umoh said  this was one of the achievement recorded by of the Department in its activities saying local production had been boosted.

” For the artisanal, we help them with training, provide inputs, which we do lake enhancement, which we take fingerlings to boost some water bodies that lack fish.

“For aquaculture, we normally establish fish farm estates, where we establish it for youths and women, and also provide them with feed because of the flood we had in 2020 in collaboration with National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA.

“We are intervening in 15 states providing fish feeds, fingerlings, nets, canoe, and that is what is going on presently in Nigeria.

“On industrial, we install Vessel Monitoring System, VMS, not to finish everything of the artisanal.

“What we do is in collaboration with Navy and other security agencies when we install the equipment in the vessels so that we will be able to monitor what they are doing; the type of fish, vessels that is being used, equipment that is being brought into the country.

“For example, they can use the vessels for smuggling and every other activity.

” We have to prevent all these from the trawlers being used for other obnoxious activities.” he said.

Also, the Chief Executive Officer of the African Union Development Agency (AUDANEPAD), Nardos Thomas , represented by the Acting Head of Food Security Unit/AUDA-NEPAD FishGov-2 Project Coordinator, Cheikh N’dongo, said the FISHGOV project was  funded with thtee million dollars to support member states.

He said the essence of the dialogue, was to help sensitise Africans about what stakeholders were  doing to advance the fisheries and aquaculture sectors for Africa’s social and economic transformation.

“We have come to support our member states, regional communities in the work that we need to do on fisheries and aquaculture on the continent,” he said.

Speaking with newsmen, African Union Commission, AUC, Ms Panduleni Elago, promised that Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme, CAADP would support artisanal fish farmers and small scale fish farmers to bridge the gap existing fish demand in Nigeria.

Elago who is CAADP Advisor, said fish is one of the healthiest and cheapest proteins to human being.

” Fish is one of the healthiest and cheapest proteins to human being, and as we strive to end hunger in Africa by 2025 we also seek to support all those involvement in the fisheries sector; small scale farmers, the non-state actors, Civil Societies,” she said.