By Faith Anisiobi, The Sight News
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, has assured Norway of Nigeria’s participation in the Blue Justice initiative to strengthen maritime surveillance and combat illegal fishing in the country’s waters.
Oyetola gave the assurance on Monday in Abuja when he received Norway’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Svein Baera, who visited his office to introduce the initiative, a statement by Dr Bolaji Akinola, Special Adviser to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy noted.
The Blue Justice Ocean Surveillance Programme provides participating countries with free satellite-based Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel-tracking data to detect suspicious maritime activities, identify vessels evading tracking and tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Baera invited Nigeria to join the Blue Community, a network of countries participating in the initiative, explaining that the programme offers real-time and historical vessel-tracking data to support maritime surveillance and enforcement.
Responding, Oyetola commended the Norwegian government for its longstanding partnership with Nigeria, expressing the Federal Government’s readiness to leverage the initiative to strengthen the fight against illegal fishing.
He expressed concern that foreign operators illegally harvest fish from Nigerian waters, only for the products to be returned to the country and sold to Nigerians at exorbitant prices.
“We cannot continue to allow foreign operators to exploit our marine resources illegally while our local fishers and businesses suffer the consequences. The Federal Government is determined to bring this practice to an end,” he said.
The minister noted that illegal fishing undermines the livelihoods of local fishers, deprives the country of legitimate economic benefits and threatens the sustainable management of its aquatic resources.
He added that satellite surveillance and improved intelligence sharing would enhance the government’s capacity to detect suspicious activities and enforce fisheries regulations.
“The protection of our waters is an environmental responsibility and an economic imperative. We must protect our fish stocks, safeguard the livelihoods of our fishermen and ensure that our marine resources contribute meaningfully to national development,” Oyetola said.
The minister further disclosed that the Federal Government was pursuing measures to increase local fish production, reduce dependence on imports, create jobs and conserve foreign exchange.
The Norwegian ambassador was accompanied by the Second Secretary for Political and Project Development, Michelle Hovi.
