Illegal fishing: Norway to begin satellite surveillance of Nigerian waters

The Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy has expressed its readiness to partner with Norway on satellite surveillance of Nigerian waters to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and protect the country’s marine resources from exploitation.

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr Adegboyega Oyetola, gave the assurance on Monday when he received Norway’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Svein Baera, who paid him a courtesy visit at his office in Abuja. The ambassador was accompanied by the Second Secretary (Political and Project Development), Michelle Hovi.

Baera said the visit was to introduce the Blue Justice initiative, which provides participating countries with free satellite-based Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel-tracking data through the Blue Justice Ocean Surveillance Programme.

He invited Nigeria to join the Blue Community, a network of countries participating in the initiative, to strengthen its capacity to detect suspicious vessel movements, identify so-called “dark vessels” that evade tracking, and tackle illegal fishing and other maritime crimes.

The ambassador explained that the programme would provide Nigeria with real-time and historical vessel-tracking data, enabling relevant authorities to monitor maritime activities, investigate suspicious movements and identify patterns associated with illegal fishing.

He said the initiative would support Nigeria’s efforts to protect its fisheries resources, improve maritime surveillance and strengthen enforcement against illegal operators.

Responding, Oyetola commended the Norwegian government for the initiative and its longstanding collaboration with Nigeria, assuring it that the country would participate in the programme to strengthen efforts to combat illegal fishing.

The minister expressed concern that foreign operators illegally harvest fish from Nigerian waters, only for the products to be returned to the country and sold to Nigerians at exorbitant prices.

“We cannot continue to allow foreign operators to exploit our marine resources illegally while our local fishers and businesses suffer the consequences. The Federal Government is determined to bring this practice to an end,” he said.

Oyetola stressed that illegal fishing undermines local livelihoods, deprives the country of legitimate economic benefits and threatens the sustainable management of its aquatic resources.

He noted that satellite surveillance and improved intelligence-sharing would strengthen the government’s ability to identify suspicious activities and support more effective enforcement of fisheries regulations.

“The protection of our waters is an environmental responsibility and an economic imperative. We must protect our fish stocks, safeguard the livelihoods of our fishermen and ensure that our marine resources contribute meaningfully to national development,” he added.

The minister further disclosed that the Federal Government was pursuing measures to boost local fish production, reduce dependence on imports, create jobs and conserve foreign exchange.