17-member committee given eight weeks to develop roadmap for boosting domestic fish production, investment and food security….
The Federal Government has stepped up efforts to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported fish with the inauguration of a 17-member technical committee charged with developing practical measures to increase domestic production.
The Technical Committee on Accelerating Fish Production in Nigeria was inaugurated on Thursday in Abuja by the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola.
The committee is expected to build on recommendations from a strategic roundtable held in October 2025 and translate them into a workable implementation plan for the fisheries and aquaculture sector.
Oyetola said the government was seeking to move beyond policy discussions and address the factors that have continued to constrain local fish production.
He identified high production costs, particularly the price of feed, inadequate access to quality fingerlings and broodstock, weak fish-health systems and biosecurity measures as some of the major challenges facing producers.
The minister also pointed to post-harvest losses, inadequate cold-chain and storage facilities, limited access to affordable financing, research gaps and weak data systems as issues requiring urgent attention.
According to him, Nigeria’s fish supply remains significantly below national demand, creating pressure on food security, household incomes and foreign exchange.
“Fish is an important source of animal protein for millions of Nigerians. The fisheries and aquaculture sector sustains livelihoods across production, processing, marketing, transportation and related services. However, domestic production remains substantially below national demand, with consequences for food security, household incomes and foreign-exchange resources,” he said.
Oyetola said the transfer of fisheries and aquaculture responsibilities to the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy provides a stronger institutional framework for addressing the sector’s challenges as part of the government’s broader blue-economy agenda.
He urged members of the committee not to create another policy document or duplicate existing government programmes, but to examine what is already available and determine how it can be effectively implemented.
“Your assignment is not to develop another policy or establish a parallel programme,” the minister told the committee.
The committee is expected to review the recommendations from the 2025 roundtable against existing policies, legislation, government initiatives and the mandates of relevant institutions.
It will also assess each proposal and determine whether it should be adopted, modified, incorporated into existing programmes, subjected to further study or discarded.
Beyond government initiatives, members are expected to identify opportunities for private-sector participation, public-private partnerships and development financing to support the sector.
Oyetola said the committee’s final report must contain a clear implementation roadmap outlining priority interventions, responsible institutions, timelines, estimated costs, funding sources, performance indicators and necessary approvals.
He said the recommendations must be practical, evidence-based and financially sustainable, with measurable outcomes in fish production, employment generation and food security.
The committee’s chairman and Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Fatima Mahmood, said members would work with government agencies, researchers, industry operators and development partners to identify priority interventions and close existing gaps.
She said the committee would focus on turning the recommendations of the earlier roundtable into practical actions capable of producing measurable results.
A professor of fisheries at Lagos State University and member of the committee, Akintola Latunji, expressed confidence that the team would work with stakeholders to accelerate fish production nationwide.
The Federal Government’s renewed push comes amid a significant shortfall between Nigeria’s fish production and consumption needs.
At a strategic roundtable in October 2025, the government identified a deficit of more than 2.2 million metric tonnes, with annual fish demand estimated at about 3.6 million metric tonnes.
Domestic production was said to account for only about 38.9 per cent of the country’s requirement, leaving Nigeria reliant on imports to bridge the gap.
The government has since identified several interventions, including the development of a Fisheries Bill and a National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy, automation of fisheries operations and the creation of a Blue Data Bank.
Other measures are targeted at expanding opportunities for young people and women in aquaculture.
The newly inaugurated committee comprises representatives from government, academia, research institutions, professional associations and the private sector.
Members include the Permanent Secretary, Fatima Mahmood; Directors of the Federal Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Omoragbon Wellington and Garba Usman; Director-General of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Ayo Omotayo; and Executive Director of the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research, Sule Abiodun.
Others include Akintola Latunji; Sadiku Suleiman Omeiza of the Federal University of Technology, Minna; Bayelsa State Commissioner for Marine and Blue Economy, Faith Izibenua Zibs-Godwin; Technical Assistant to the Minister, Charles Okaga; and Fisheries Society of Nigeria President, Ebinimi Ansa.
Also on the committee are the President of the Catfish Farmers Association of Nigeria, Onoja Sunday; President of the Fisheries Cooperative Federation of Nigeria, Mashi Gabriel Sani; President of the Tilapia Development Association of Nigeria, Remi Ahmed; and WorldFish Nigeria Country Representative, Charles Iyangbe.
The committee has been given eight weeks to submit its report, which the ministry expects to provide a clear pathway for expanding domestic fish production and progressively reducing Nigeria’s reliance on imports.
