Healthy Ocean: SOA Nigeria calls for stricter measures and collaborative actions to protect the ecosystem

Sustainable Ocean Alliance Nigeria (SOA Nigeria) has called on the relevant authorities to ensure that the Inland Fisheries Act as well as the Sea Fisheries Act are updated and transparent enough to ensure stricter and stiffer measures are in place to tackle ocean challenges in a bid to ensure that the health of the ocean is restored in our lifetime.

Adenike Adeiga, Hub Lead of SOA Nigeria who made this submission while presenting the report on the recent research work conducted by her team in Lagos, on Saturday, December 14, 2024 noted the urgent need to regulate the human activities in the ocean and enforcement of the laws.

According to Adeiga, “There is also need for researchers, policymakers, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as well as communities to collaborate, support and implement sustainable fishing practices leading to reduction in plastic pollution, and promote responsible actions”.

In her words, the project titled “Towards a Healthy Ocean” is a research conducted in Lagos on economically important fishes to understand the current state and address threats to ocean health.

“The three major threats the project examined are declining fish stock, pollution and livelihood. For instance, fishermen have to go further into the sea to get a tangible catch compared to 20 to 50 years ago.

“On the issue of pollution, the dirt you see that litter the streets of Lagos eventually ends up in the ocean which is being consumed by the fishes. There is also a very important issue that people are not paying much attention to, this is the issue of livelihood which is very critical.

“If our ocean is threatened, definitely food security is threatened because millions of people actually rely on resources of the ocean for their survival and livelihood, so if the ocean is not productive, by extension our food security as a nation is threatened” Adenike stressed.

On the methodology used, the Hub Lead noted that the project aimed to assess the gut content of economically important fish species to determine their dietary preference, ecosystem interaction and presence of other materials.

She said: “We worked at 4 prominent stations in Nigeria including Makoko, Ikorodu, Apapa, and Epe with sampling and lab analysis on 7 different fish species and did lab analysis on them.

“The goal of the project is to understand the dietary preference of the fishes examined. With the support of Daniel Iyiola, our Data Analyst, we were able to gather that species with high Condition Factor (K) values such as Black Jaw Tilapia, indicate robust health or favorable dietary conditions. Also, species with low K like Sole Fish, Silver Catfish may have poorer health or face environmental/dietary constraints. Most of the fish showed heavy reliance on phytoplankton making them vulnerable to ecosystem disruptions like algal blooms or overfishing of Planktonic species.

Surprisingly, we discovered plastic material in the gut content of the fish collected from Apapa station. Efforts to protect benthic habitats and maintain primary productivity will be critical for sustaining the population”.

Adenike however promised that SOA Nigeria will continue to embark on further research in the future and well as charting the right path for future research directions. According to her, this move this move will continually monitor fish populations to track changes over time.

“Further research should also be conducted to investigate the effects of climate change, pollution, and other environmental factors on the ocean ecosystem” Adenike Adeiga stressed.

 

In her remarks, Ruth Funmilola Hungevu, of Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Federal Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture noted that “The future of fisheries law enforcement holds promise for even greater economic benefits, provided that challenges are addressed effectively.

While presenting a paper titled “Economic Impacts of Fisheries Law Enforcement (Ensuring Sustainability and Prosperity)”, Hungevu noted that “Continued investment in enforcement, coupled with strong policy frameworks, can ensure long term sustainability and prosperity of the fishing industry.

Hungevu who spoke in agreement with the position of Hub Lead, SOA Nigeria, b dissecting some examples of fisheries laws such as the Inland Fisheries Act 1992, the Sea Fisheries Act 1992, the Coastal and Inland Fisheries (Control and Regulation) Regulations and the Exclusive Economic Zone however noted that “Effective Fisheries law enforcement is crucial for maintaining the economic viability and sustainability of the fishing industry”.

Olusola Adeoye, Founder, Coast2Deep-Sea Initiative and Lead, Ocean & Coast Programme of Nature Cares Resource Centre, Lagos in his submission noted pointed out that “Sustainable Blue Economy has the potential within the coastal areas to support the most rural and vulnerable coastal communities through locally-led actions – this is why governments must prioritize and focus on fostering sustainable Blue Economy”.

While presenting his paper titled “The Roles of Law Enforcement Agencies in Fisheries Management”, Adeoye opined that “The combination of overfishing, pollution, and habitat destruction is leading to marine biodiversity loss.

According to him, proper regulation in fisheries management will prevent activities like poaching and catching threatened species,regulate the type of fishing gear that can be used and enforce fishery laws.

About SOA Nigeria:

The Sustainable Ocean Alliance Nigeria (SOA Nigeria) is a non-profit organization.

As one of the largest networks of young ocean leaders spanning 165 countries, including Nigeria, we are dedicated to implementing innovative and sustainable solutions.

Our mission is to mobilize an ocean workforce to promote and restore the health of the ocean in our lifetime.