Nigeria is losing $600 million annually to illegal and unreported fishing by foreign vessels as a result of lack of equipment such as Automatic Identification System (AIS) and Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), and adequate manpower to police the country’s vast coastline, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
THISDAY gathered that the country also spends $800 million annually on fish importation, being the fourth largest importer of fish in the world, after China, Japan and the United States.
Investigation further revealed that the country’s top suppliers are the United States and Chile, but fish is also sourced from Europe, Asia as well as a few African countries, including Mauritania, Algeria and Mauritius.
According to documents obtained by THISDAY from the Federal Department of Fisheries in Lagos, Nigeria’s annual fish demand is estimated at 3.32 million metric tonnes while domestic production is only about 1.12 million metric tonnes.
This leaves a deficit of 2.2 million metric tonnes, which is largely supplied through importation.
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The document titled, “Fisheries Crime Activities in West Africa Coastal Region,” showed that Nigeria spends about $800 million (N324 billion) to import fish to bridge the supply gap.
According to the document, Nigeria in 2018 imported fish worth $71 million, $56 million, $43 million and $174 million from Iceland, Russia, Norway and Netherlands respectively.
The document also showed that West Africa remains a global hotspot for illegal fishing with estimated losses of $2.9 billion.
The document further revealed that over 450 Chinese vessels fish illegally in Nigeria and the coast of West Africa, adding that, “a survey carried out by the West Africa Task Force showed that over 37 per cent of all fish caught in West Africa are caught illegally with China, Taiwan, Russia, South Korea, Spain, France and Thailand being the main countries responsible.