Nigeria Partners with Norway to Combat Illegal Fishing

Nigeria incurs an estimated annual loss of $450 million due to illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. In response, the Federal Government is partnering with Norway to improve maritime surveillance and safeguard the country's fisheries resources.

Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, made this announcement on Monday in Abuja while meeting with Norway’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Svein Baera, who introduced the Blue Justice initiative. This program offers participating countries access to free real-time and historical satellite-based Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel-tracking data to monitor suspicious vessel movements and enhance enforcement against illegal fishing.

Oyetola emphasized that illegal fishing undermines local livelihoods and threatens fish stocks, depriving Nigeria of legitimate economic benefits. He expressed commitment to ending the exploitation of marine resources by foreign operators.

The Norwegian ambassador noted that Nigeria's involvement in the Blue Community would bolster its ability to detect maritime crimes.