Norway is seeking Nigeria’s participation in a satellite surveillance programme that provides free vessel-tracking data to help countries detect illegal fishing and other maritime crimes.
Svein Baera, Norway’s ambassador to Nigeria, presented the Blue Justice Ocean Surveillance Programme to Adegboyega Oyetola, minister of marine and blue economy, during a meeting in Abuja on Monday.
Baera invited Nigeria to join the Blue Justice Community, through which participating countries can access real-time and historical Automatic Identification System (AIS) data gathered by Norwegian satellites.
The data can help authorities monitor vessel movements, identify suspicious activity and investigate ships that evade tracking.
“The heart of the Blue Justice Ocean Surveillance Programme is the provision of Automatic Identification System (AIS) tracking data gathered from Norwegian microsatellites to the users of the Blue Justice Community and facilitation of their ability to use the data in their daily operational work,” the organisation wrote on its own website
According to Norway’s government, the programme, launched in September 2023, provides participating countries with satellite data free of charge. They can also receive free analytical support from Norway’s tracking centre in Vardø.
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Oyetola welcomed the offer and assured the Norwegian delegation that Nigeria would participate in the initiative, saying the technology could strengthen enforcement against illegal fishing in Nigerian waters.
“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.
The ministry did not specify when Nigeria would join the programme.
Oyetola said illegal fishing threatens local livelihoods and deprives Nigeria of economic benefits from its marine resources. He added that the government was pursuing measures to increase domestic fish production and reduce import dependence.
Nigeria imports between one and two million metric tonnes of fish every year to cover its domestic supply gap.
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Bethel Olujobi is the Trade Correspondent at BusinessDay. He brings scarce insight into Nigeria's maritime policies and the changing currents of global commerce defining the country's position in international trade. Before this, he reported on foreign relations, migration and sports for BusinessDay. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication, and is an alumni of the CNN Academy and the Financial Times News School. He is certified by Reuters and Google. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria. For pitches, email: [email protected]
