Aqua Economy: Combating Illegal Foreign Fishing Off Nigerian Coastal Waters

By Tomi Adams

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing off Nigeria by foreign trawlers has remained a huge national challenge as it undermines the nation’s economy, poses a security threat to its territorial waters, degrades the coastal communities, and renders artisan fishermen jobless.

There have been growing concerns among environmental experts, national policymakers, and coastal communities about the environmental and socioeconomic effects of unbridled foreign exploitation on the nation’s fisheries and water resources.

Large industrial fishing vessels operated by European and Chinese companies often violate no-fishing zones set aside for local communities. The worst offenders from Asia use bottom trawling, a destructive method that destroys everything in its path.

This has resulted in the depletion of fish stocks, threatens food security, and negatively affects the environment.

A report by the China Global South Initiative (CGSi), released in October 2025, revealed that foreign trawlers pose a serious threat to Nigeria’s fisheries and water resources, endangering food security, national economies, and local livelihoods.

The report exposes how foreign trawlers have continued to undermine the ability of local small-scale fishermen to make a living, and thereby jeopardized the long-term sustainability of the region’s fisheries, which are vital for local food security and economies.

According to the report, the growing presence of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in Nigeria and the sub-region is fueled by sizable foreign investments in industrial fishing, backed by state subsidies, low-interest loans, and tax exemptions.

Although the report identified under-resourced enforcement agencies and outdated legal frameworks as some factors that hinder effective regulation and governance of the sector, it also brought to the fore the issue of endemic corruption—particularly at the local level, where foreign fishers sometimes pay communities not to report illegal fishing and mining, which weakens oversight.

There are also reported cases of inimical practices where industrial vessels operating in West African waters use dynamite, illegal nets, and chemicals that harm marine life and pollute waters, thereby threatening the lives of members of local communities.

Regrettably, it added that indigenous political and business elites with vested interests in fishery ventures involving foreign companies often obstruct reform or weaken enforcement.

These governance challenges, the reports say, are further compounded by West African states’, including Nigeria’s, dependence on loans from foreign state-owned banks and infrastructure projects, which have reduced their bargaining power and undermined their ability to hold these international companies accountable.

Today China’s fishing fleet is considered the largest in West Africa, with nearly 17,000 vessels and an annual catch amounting to roughly $3.8 billion. Chinese vessels benefit from state subsidies and advanced fishing technologies, enabling them to overwhelm local fisheries, leaving artisanal fishers unable to compete.

The report revealed that in 2018, illegal fishing cost Nigeria an estimated $70 million, and the menace has continued to make life difficult for small-scale fishers, many of them women working in fish processing and sales, who face declining catches and rising unemployment.

In line with the requests of local communities and calls by experts on the urgent need to curb the activities of the illicit trawlers, it is imperative for the Nigerian government to pay close attention to the recommendations made by the CGSi report, which include strengthening governance and legal frameworks, as well as the revival of out-dated fisheries and water resource policies to reflect current realities.

It is imperative to re-enact new laws that clearly outline regulatory loopholes and specify new monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to address them.

According to the report, investment in the navy and the coast guard in the form of training and better equipment for maritime security and enforcement agencies should be given utmost attention.

However, without the active support of flag states, it is impossible to address illegal industrial fishing in Nigeria and at the regional level. Therefore, to effectively combat threats to their ecosystems and fisheries sectors, West African states must work together; an urgent task ECOWAS should champion to protect West Africa’s blue economy prospects.

The CGSi report recommends the development of a regional real-time monitoring system to track water resources, illegal activities, and waste dumping. It added that such a system should integrate satellite data, citizen reporting platforms, and automatic identification systems (AIS) to create a comprehensive monitoring web across the Gulf of Guinea and key river basins.

AIS should be made mandatory for all industrial vessels operating in West African EEZs, with remote data made accessible to national and regional authorities. ECOWAS is also encouraged to promote trans boundary cooperation on shared waterways as part of efforts to promote sustainable fisheries agreements and mechanisms across the sun-region.

Joint watershed management programs should be established to address shared pollution risks, dam regulation, and hydrological data sharing.

It is also imperative for ECOWAS to negotiate regional fisheries agreements with international actors that prioritizes the interests of coastal communities, “emphasizing environmental sustainability, verifiable catch quotas, mandatory gear and equipment specifications, and designated no-fishing zones”, the CIGS report suggests.

Nigeria imports over half of the fish it consumes, despite having an extensive coastal area rich in marine life. It is therefore crucial that Nigeria stands up to foreign states that are trying to plunder its aquatic treasure in order to protect its coastal communities, and secure its fish stocks for the benefit of the entire population.

*Tomi Adams writes from Delta State tomiadams1@yahoo.com