The Director General of the International Maritime Institute of Nigeria (IMION), Rear Admiral Thaddeus Christopher Udofia (rtd), has warned that Nigeria must urgently move from vulnerability to disciplined execution in managing its marine resources to protect fisheries, coastal livelihoods and national food security.
Udofia gave the warning while delivering a keynote address at the Maritime Correspondents’ Organisation of Nigeria (MARCON) National Conference at Rockview Hotel, Apapa, Lagos.
Speaking on the theme, “Sustainable Fishing in Nigeria—Pathways to Growth, Food Security and Coastal Livelihoods,” the IMION chief said the country could not continue to exploit its marine resources without putting measures in place to sustain them.
“Let me be clear regarding sustainability: we cannot expect to harvest tomorrow what we ruthlessly destroy, allow others to destroy, or neglect to nurture today,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria’s transition from vulnerability to long-term sustainability and food security must be driven by disciplined execution and measurable performance indicators.
Udofia consequently proposed a five-pillar strategic framework aimed at reversing the decline in Nigeria’s fisheries sector and maximising the socioeconomic opportunities in the country’s Blue Economy.
The first pillar, he said, was unified regulatory enforcement, which requires harmonising the competencies of maritime security agencies, port economic regulators and fisheries departments.
He noted that the Nigerian Navy’s successes in suppressing piracy and combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing should be systematically extended across the domestic fisheries sector.
The second pillar is data-driven maritime policy, with Udofia calling for stronger support for research institutions such as the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) and IMION to generate reliable data on fish stocks.
He said policies on catch limits, closed fishing seasons and marine protected areas should be based on credible scientific data and strictly enforced.
On the third pillar, aggressive aquaculture transition, Udofia advocated a shift from unpredictable wild-capture fisheries to technology-driven aquaculture.
He identified modern cage culture systems in coastal lagoons as one avenue for increasing fish production and addressing Nigeria’s food deficit, while stressing the need for investments in cold-chain infrastructure, processing technology and institutional training to reduce post-harvest losses.
He said such measures could transform fishing from a survival activity into a wealth-generating enterprise, particularly for women and young people.
The fourth pillar, advanced intelligence monitoring, involves the deployment of Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS), satellite surveillance and stronger enforcement of catch quotas.
According to him, effective monitoring would support marine spatial planning and ensure that industrial fishing activities do not undermine the ability of marine ecosystems and coastal communities to regenerate.
Udofia identified community-led co-management as the fifth pillar, arguing that government enforcement alone would not guarantee sustainable fisheries.
He said coastal communities, which have depended on marine resources for generations, should be empowered to participate directly in managing them.
The IMION chief called for the institutionalisation of Community-Based Fisheries Management (CBFM), including the empowerment of local cooperative societies and the granting of legitimate co-management rights.
He said giving coastal communities a legal stake in the management of marine resources would encourage them to serve as a frontline defence against destructive fishing practices.
Udofia said implementing the five-pillar strategy would not only support the recovery of Nigeria’s fisheries but also strengthen coastal livelihoods, improve food security and unlock greater opportunities within the country’s Blue Economy.
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