Nigeria loses $70m annually to outdated fishing laws – Operators

Industry operators under the auspices of the Fisheries Cooperative Federation of Nigeria Limited have said Nigeria is losing about $70m annually to outdated fishing laws.

The National President of FCFNL, Muhammad Laminu, disclosed this in a telephone conversation with Sunday PUNCH.

He cited unreported, illegal, and unregulated industry as the problems of the Nigerian fishing sector.

“You know this unregulated fishing is a kind of fishing activity that violates laws. The problem with unregulated fishing is a result of outdated laws. The laws that regulate fishing activities in this country were enacted as far back as 1980 or so, and it has not been revisited since then,” said Laminu.

He emphasised the need for the government to revisit the laws to stand the test of time, adding that the law doesn’t cover the present-day realities.

“It will not solve the current problem,” he said.

According to him, another problem with unregulated fishing is enforcement. He added that the Federal Department of Fisheries, which has the responsibility to regulate fishing activities in the country, couldn’t do much due to underfunding.

Laminu also stated that due to corruption, many people are taking advantage of the country’s fish, both on the high seas and in other water body fisheries.

“The best thing to do is at least for the government to come up with a comprehensive reform and increase funding to the sector,” Laminu said.

He suggested that the government undertake comprehensive reform to tackle the problem, saying, “So that at least the government will give much-desired support in terms of finance. Because they don’t know about revenue annually, we are losing over $70m.”

He added that the group is developing a training and capacity-building programme for all members, reiterating the need to build capacity “to let them know that this is how it is being done.”

He said the problem with unregulated fishing is depleting the nation’s fish stock, adding that the challenges have led to the encroachment of foreign trawlers.

According to Laminiu, fishing regulations in Nigeria have not been revisited since their enactment in the 80s.

“All this is due to a lack of regulations. We need a standard and up-to-date regulation. There is a need for the National Assembly to revisit the laws, the fisheries law, which is outdated now,” Laminu said.