Nigeria’s Fish Demand Exceeds 3.6m Metric Tons – FG

The Federal Government of Nigeria says the demand for fish  exceeds 3.6 million metric tons but the country is only able to produce about 1.2 million metric tons.
Director, Fisheries Department in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Ime Umoh, made this known at the Second Dialogue with Regional Economic Communities (RECS) Implementation of Fisheries Governance Project Phase 2 (FISHGOV-2)  in Abuja recently.
The three-day dialogue was 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, expressed optimism that the Phase 2 would also boost fish production in Nigeria.
“The Minister of  Agriculture has a very big passion for fish production because we believe that fish is the cheapest source of protein and the total demand for fish in the country is more than 3.6 metric tons”, he said
In terms 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  they are bringing the frozen fish from, what  the health status is, how is being stored, we even 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.
“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”, he said.
Speaking with newsmen, a member of the 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  between fish demand  and production 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 beings, 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,” she said.
The Head of Agriculture and Food Security Division of the ECOWAS Commission,  Mr Ernest Aubee, said that ECOWAS had collaborated with the Nigerian Navy to protect the territorial waters of the sub-region from criminal activities as it affects fish production.