Nigeria’s struggling fishing communities could play a bigger role in feeding the nation and creating jobs if the country moves quickly to protect its marine resources and modernise the fisheries sector.
This was the message from the Director General of the International Maritime Institute of Nigeria (IMION), Rear Admiral Thaddeus Christopher Udofia (rtd.), Ph.D., in a release issued on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, outlining a five-pillar strategy to tackle the challenges confronting Nigeria’s fisheries, aquaculture and coastal communities.
Udofia presented the roadmap while delivering a keynote address at the National Conference of the Maritime Correspondents’ Organisation of Nigeria (MARCON), held at Rockview Hotel, Apapa, Lagos.
The conference focused on the theme, “Sustainable Fishing in Nigeria—Pathways to Growth, Food Security and Coastal Livelihoods.”
For Udofia, the issue goes beyond fish production. It is about the families that depend on fishing for survival, the women involved in processing and trading, young people looking for employment and Nigeria’s wider struggle to achieve food security.
“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.
He called for a shift from vulnerability to disciplined implementation, supported by measurable targets and reliable data.
The first pillar focuses on stronger coordination among maritime security agencies, port regulators and fisheries authorities.
Udofia said the gains recorded by the Nigerian Navy in tackling piracy and Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing should be extended across Nigeria’s domestic fisheries sector.
A more coordinated enforcement system, he argued, would help protect legitimate fishermen from destructive fishing practices while ensuring that commercial operators comply with regulations.
The second pillar centres on reliable data.
Udofia argued that decisions on fish stocks, catch limits, closed fishing seasons and marine protected areas should be based on scientific evidence rather than assumptions.
He called for stronger support for institutions such as the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) and IMION to conduct fish-stock assessments and provide the information needed for sustainable management of Nigeria’s waters.
The third pillar calls for a major expansion of aquaculture.
Udofia said Nigeria cannot continue to depend heavily on unpredictable wild-capture fishing to meet its growing demand for fish.
He advocated greater use of modern cage-culture systems, particularly in suitable coastal lagoons, alongside investments in fish processing, cold-chain facilities and training.
Such investments, he said, could help reduce post-harvest losses while creating more dependable income opportunities for women and young people involved in the fisheries value chain.
For many fishing families, this could mean moving from a livelihood dependent on what the water provides each day to a more predictable and commercially sustainable enterprise.
The fourth pillar focuses on technology and intelligence.
Udofia advocated the wider deployment of Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS), satellite surveillance and other data-driven tools to track fishing activities and support better marine spatial planning.
He also called for stronger enforcement of catch quotas to ensure that industrial fishing activities do not undermine the ability of fish stocks and coastal communities to recover.
The fifth pillar places local communities at the centre of fisheries management.
Udofia argued that government enforcement alone cannot guarantee sustainable fishing, stressing that coastal communities have generations of knowledge and experience of their marine environment.
He therefore called for the institutionalisation of Community-Based Fisheries Management (CBFM), with local cooperatives given legitimate roles in managing and protecting fisheries resources.
His argument is straightforward: people who depend directly on the sea should not be treated merely as beneficiaries of government policy; they should have a voice in how the resource is managed.
Udofia said giving communities a recognised stake in protecting their marine environment could make them an important frontline against destructive fishing practices.
The five-pillar strategy comes as Nigeria continues efforts to develop its Blue Economy, with fisheries and aquaculture offering opportunities for food production, employment, poverty reduction and coastal economic development.
For fishing communities along Nigeria’s extensive coastline, the success of such a transition could ultimately be measured not only in tonnes of fish landed, but in the number of families able to earn a stable income, young people finding productive work and Nigerians having greater access to affordable protein.
