The federal government has announced a partnership with Norway to deploy satellite surveillance technology to combat illegal fishing in Nigerian waters.
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, disclosed this in a statement posted on his X handle on Monday.
Mr Oyetola said the partnership, under Norway’s Blue Justice initiative, will provide satellite-based vessel-tracking data to help us detect suspicious movements, identify vessels operating under the radar and enhance enforcement against illegal fishing and other maritime crimes.
“Our partnership, announced today when I received Norway’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Svein Baera, will strengthen our capacity to monitor Nigerian waters, protect our fisheries from exploitation and ensure that offenders are identified and held accountable. We will not allow illegal operators to undermine the livelihoods of our fishermen, deprive Nigeria of legitimate revenue or threaten the sustainability of our aquatic resources,” Mr Oyetola said.
He said foreign fishing trawlers cannot continue to exploit “our marine resources illegally while our local fishers and businesses bear the consequences. It is unacceptable that fish harvested from our waters through illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing are brought back into Nigeria and sold to our people at exorbitant prices.
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“The Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy is determined to bring this practice to an end.”
He said protecting the waters is both an environmental responsibility and an economic imperative.
“Our goal is to safeguard our fish stocks, empower local fishers, support businesses, create jobs, boost domestic fish production, reduce import dependence and conserve foreign exchange.
“Nigeria’s marine resources must work for the benefit of Nigerians. We are committed to ensuring that our blue economy becomes a stronger driver of national prosperity and sustainable development,” he added.
