Nigeria establishes committee to boost fish production and reduce imports

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, charged the committee to translate recommendations from a previous strategic roundtable into concrete actions. Nigeria's domestic fish production currently meets only about 38.9 percent of its annual requirement of 3.6 million metric tonnes, leading to a deficit of over 2.2 million metric tonnes and significant dependence on imports. Challenges in the sector include high production costs, inadequate access to quality fish seed, weak fish-health systems, post-harvest losses, insufficient cold-chain infrastructure, limited access to finance, and gaps in research and data.

The committee's mandate is to assess proposals, validate recommendations, and develop a prioritized implementation roadmap with clear interventions, responsible institutions, timelines, costs, funding options, and performance indicators. The committee, comprising members from government, academia, professional bodies, research institutions, and industry, is expected to submit its report within eight weeks. The ministry aims to increase sustainable domestic fish production and progressively reduce fish imports.