‘Local fish production falls short of national demand’

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola.

The Sea Empowerment & Research Centre, a maritime research organisation, has warned that trends in Nigeria’s fisheries and aquaculture sector show that domestic fish production continues to lag significantly behind national demand.

SEREC added that despite ongoing investments under the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Nigeria still consumes substantially more fish than it produces locally, leaving a considerable supply deficit that is largely met through imports.

The group stated this in its special mid-year maritime security & blue economy bulletin signed by the Head of Research at SEREC, Eugene Nweke, obtained by The PUNCH.

SEREC emphasised that the production gap in the fishing and aquaculture sector represents not only a food security challenge but also a missed economic opportunity.