Area Controller, Federal Operations Unit (FOU), Zone C, Nigeria Customs Service, Mr David Dimka, briefing newsmen on dangers of smuggling to the Nigerian economy, in Benin last Friday. Photo: NAN

Mr Akinsola Amire, President, Nigerian Trawlers Owners Association (NTOA), Mr. Akinsola Amire has said the fishing industry had the capability to meet the nation’s local fish consumption needs.
Amire, who made the assertion in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, on Friday  said that if local production of fish was well managed the quantum of importation would go down.
“As at now, the nation’s local fish consumption needs is about 2.5 million metric tonnes out of which the fishing industry contributes 700, 000 metric tonnes.
“We still have substantial gaps which can be met by local production through both capture and culture farming.
“If the government organises the industry very well, we will be exporting fish both from capture and culture farming,’’ he said.
Amire said that for a long time, nobody believed that catfish could be cultured in tanks but with technology it had been perfected in Nigeria.
He said that even some fishing experts from South Africa had come to Nigeria to learn that technology.
According to him, all the fishes captured by trawler owners are not exported but sold locally.
He, however, said that if the fish value chain was well organised and supervised, value added products could be exported to earn foreign exchange for the nation.
The NTOA president said that this would not prevent anyone from importing fish as consumers would appreciate the difference in terms of health benefits and taste.
He said that value added products like processing and smoked fishes could be exported as well as meet local consumption needs.
Amire said that the government should leverage on the foreign exchange earning potential of the industry to do the right things first for the industry.
According to him, uncertainty towards fishing terminals for the trawlers owners does not give room for the operators to have a long term plan to move the industry forward.
Amire said that favourable environment would encourage some of its members who had stopped fishing to get back to business.
He said that without fishing terminals, the operators still in business could not increase their flight as there would be nowhere to anchor them.
Amire said that the same lack of fish terminal contributed to the operators having fish cold rooms and processing centres outside the ports.
According to him, these do not make it easy even for the government agencies to take adequate data of what is happening in the industry.