Oyetola inaugurates committee to tackle challenges of Nigeria’s aquaculture sector

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has inaugurated a technical committee to tackle challenges affecting fish production and strengthen Nigeria’s fisheries and aquaculture sector.

Oyetola inaugurated the Technical Committee on Accelerating Fish Production in Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja, charging members to move beyond policy recommendations and develop coordinated actions capable of delivering measurable results.

The minister identified high production costs, particularly the rising cost of fish feed, limited access to quality fish seed and broodstock, weak fish-health and biosecurity systems, post-harvest losses, inadequate cold-chain and storage facilities, limited access to affordable financing and gaps in research and innovation as major challenges facing the sector.

He said the transfer of fisheries and aquaculture functions to the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy had provided a stronger institutional platform to address the challenges under the Federal Government’s blue-economy agenda.

Oyetola reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to increasing sustainable domestic fish production and reducing Nigeria’s dependence on fish imports. He recalled that the ministry, in collaboration with the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, organised a strategic roundtable on October 29, 2025, to examine ways of accelerating fish production.

“Your assignment is not to develop another policy or establish a parallel programme,” Oyetola told members, directing them to assess the recommendations against relevant policies, laws, government programmes and institutional mandates.

The minister charged the committee to produce a roadmap detailing priority interventions, responsible institutions, timelines, indicative costs, funding options and performance indicators, while identifying opportunities for private-sector investment, public-private partnerships and development finance.

The committee, comprising representatives of government, academia, research institutions, professional bodies and the private sector, has eight weeks to submit its report.