Lagos -The Fisheries Society of Nigeria , FISON, has urged the Federal Government to increase capital investment in fisheries to ensure the realisation of the economic potential of the sector.
The National President of the society, Dr Abba Abdullahi, said: “As a country with a great potential to lead the continent in fisheries and aquaculture, the government needs to step up capital investment in the sector.
“It is disheartening that the last capital investment from government was in 2009 while support in form of annual grant to FISON has dried up since the last five years.”
According to him, fishery occupies a significant position in the primary production sector, employing more than one million people and contributing about 50 per cent of the animal protein intake of the population.
Abdullahi added that the sector’s contribution to the nation’s GDP was about four per cent, representing about one billion dollars (N150 billion) of the 20-billion dollar (about N3 trillion) total contribution from agriculture.
“With demand for fish increasing, investment in commercial fish farming in Nigeria is rapidly expanding at 25 per cent to 33 per cent per year; this could increase in the nearest future,” he said.
