Nigeria Loses $60m To IUU Fishing

Sustained efforts by the
Federal Government to drive the development of the fisheries sub-sector of the agricultural sector appears to have been hampered by challenges of illegal fishing in territorial water across the country, experts have said.
The illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities, otherwise known as IUU fishing according to a report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA results in an annual loss of over $60 million and has been identified as a major dog in the wheel of the development of the sub-sector.
According to Prof. Chioma Nzeh of the Department of Zoology, University of Ilorin, many marine and coastal ecosystems were about to collapse due to IUU activities which is also known as pirate fishing (PF).
Global losses from IUU fishing range from $10bn-$23.5bn annually as the harvest from IUU fishing represents almost one-fifth of the entire global catch.
Nzeh said the IUU fishing was easy and highly lucrative due to lack of monitoring and enforcement, especially in West Africa.
Coastal communities across West Africa have been reporting a dramatic decline in the amount of fishes caught.
As a result, they spend longer time at sea for fewer and smaller catches because the rate of harvest far outstrips that of replenishment.
Describing the development as unacceptable, the European Union, (EU) Commissioner for Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Maria Damanki, disclosed that over 16 per cent of fish imports to the EU stemmed from IUU fishing.
The NOAA in its 2015 biennial  report to congress on IUU fishing has identified Nigeria as one of the six nations including Colombia, Emador,  Mexico, Nicaragua in which IUU fishing is rampant and as such threatening the current efforts to secure long term sustainable fisheries as well as promote healthier and more robust ecosystems.
NOAA has assured to collaborate with countries concerned to address the issues in order to ensure enforcement.