Topic:

Decades of Growth and Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture In Nigeria:  Prospects, Practices and the New Era For Sustainability

Abstract: 

Nigeria’s coastal zone is endowed with numerous living and non-living resources. Themost important living resources are the fin and shellfish. The Industrial fisheries sectordated back to 1950 and 1953 when 2 commercial trawlers operated by the Colonial Development Corporation (CDC) Lagos terminals. The trawlers are well over 135 nowoperating in the continental shelf up to 50m depths. The industry has witnessedgrowth in the production of 21,600 metric tonnes (mt) to 616,981 mt in 2010 althoughcurrently produces around 15,464 mt. Small pelagic fishes including Tuna and Tuna-like species have been identified to be available in commercial quantity buthave yetto be exploited.Lantern fish as also been identified in commercial quantity and yetunderexploited.The advent of various technologies to enhance the sustainability ofthe resources saw the introduction of bycatch reduction devices (BRD) and turtleexcluder devices (TED) along with a monitoring policy that ensures all edible catchesare landed. The aquaculture sector has witnessed a tremendous increase over thedecades from 16,119 mt to well over 2.5 million mt. The aquaculture boast hasfocusedon the production of catfishClarias gariepinusand Tilapia

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