Illegal Fishing: FG Tackles Foreign Poachers, Import With Surveillance Deal

The federal government has moved to strengthen surveillance of Nigeria’s territorial waters through a partnership with Norway, seeking to curb illegal fishing by foreign operators, protect local fish production and reduce dependence on imports.

The initiative will provide Nigeria with access to satellite-based vessel-tracking data to identify suspicious maritime activities, track vessels evading surveillance and strengthen enforcement against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

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The minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, disclosed the government’s commitment to the initiative on Monday when he received Norway’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Svein Baera, during a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja.

The partnership comes amid concerns over the exploitation of Nigeria’s marine resources by foreign operators, with the government seeking to protect local fishers, preserve fish stocks and ensure that the country derives greater economic benefits from its fisheries sector.

Oyetola expressed concern that foreign operators illegally harvest fish from Nigerian waters before the products are returned to the country and sold to Nigerians at exorbitant prices.

“We cannot continue to allow foreign operators to exploit our marine resources illegally while our local fishers and businesses suffer the consequences. The Federal Government is determined to bring this practice to an end,” he said.

He stressed that illegal fishing undermines the livelihoods of local fishing communities, deprives the country of legitimate economic benefits and threatens the sustainable management of aquatic resources.

According to the minister, improved maritime surveillance and intelligence sharing would strengthen the government’s ability to identify suspicious vessel movements and enforce fisheries regulations.

“The protection of our waters is an environmental responsibility and an economic imperative. We must protect our fish stocks, safeguard the livelihoods of our fishermen and ensure that our marine resources contribute meaningfully to national development,” he added.

Oyetola further disclosed that the Federal Government was pursuing measures to increase domestic fish production, reduce dependence on imports, create jobs and conserve foreign exchange.

Earlier, the Norwegian ambassador said his visit was to introduce Nigeria to the Blue Justice initiative, which offers participating countries free satellite-based Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel-tracking data through the Blue Justice Ocean Surveillance Programme.

Baera invited Nigeria to join the Blue Community, a network of countries participating in the initiative to strengthen surveillance and enforcement against illegal fishing and other maritime crimes.

He explained that the programme provides both real-time and historical vessel-tracking data, enabling authorities to monitor maritime activities, investigate suspicious movements and identify patterns associated with illegal fishing.

The data would also help Nigerian authorities identify so-called “dark vessels” that evade tracking systems, improving the country’s capacity to detect unauthorised fishing activities and investigate suspected violations.

Baera said the initiative would support Nigeria’s efforts to protect fisheries resources, improve maritime surveillance and strengthen enforcement against illegal operators.

Responding, Oyetola commended the Norwegian government for the initiative and its longstanding collaboration with Nigeria, assuring the ambassador that the country would participate in the programme to strengthen the fight against illegal fishing.

The partnership is expected to support broader efforts to develop Nigeria’s marine and blue economy by protecting aquatic resources, improving the operating environment for local fishers and promoting sustainable exploitation of the country’s fisheries potential.