No Enough Adequate Regulation To Deter Foreigners Plundering Nigerian Waterways -Jean Chiazor Anishere

By Chinonye Anyatonwu

Members of the House of representatives Committee on Marine Safety Education and Administration has converged to make a review on illegal fisheries plundering the Nigerian Waterways and other critical issues. In a workshop that took place on Friday at the Eko Hotels, Victoria Island Lagos, organized by the Nigeria Maritime Administration And Safety Agency(NIMASA), with the theme,"Harnessing The Nations Blue Economy (A Legislative Approach), saw the committee deliberating on the outdated maritime Laws and regulations, and the need to review those laws to the benefit of Nigerians and its Blue Economy. A Maritime lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mrs Jean Chiazor Anishere SAN, in her speech, emphasizes on the urgency of reviewing the NIMASA Act pointing out the existing accountability structures where NIMASA still reports to the Transportation Minister even after the creation of Marine and Blue Economy Ministry. She underscored the need for a thorough review of the fisheries Act, calling attention to its outdated provision Act of N500 or six months imprisonment and the absence of legal protection against illegal fisheries or reported fisheries. “Not N5,000, not N500,000, but N500 or six months imprisonment, the ridiculous of this Act is the fact that, I do not see how six months imprisonment is commensurate to N500. “But then again, I look at the year the act was made, this was 1967, so surely, that is probably when one Naira is equivalent to one pound. Hence N500 could be seen to be such a huge amount of money to attract six months imprisonment. “But in the Nigeria of today, 2024, we all know that if it retains N500, it is a ridiculous amount of money. So we need to review the Act. “Finally on fisheries and aquaculture, it is also observed that the predominance of fishing in our country is done by artisans. But there is no provision for that in the Fisheries Act. Continuing, “Even in our constitution, there is no provision, no regulations for these artisans. So, this has actually been a major problem in our country. And it has actually led to a situation where we have the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, the offence that is being committed by foreigners. “We see some Ghanaians, some of our brothers from West African countries come to our territorial waters to poach. And because we don’t have laws that are adequate or commensurate to deter the offence of illegal aquaculture, we are not allowed to prosecute them. “Unless and until we review these regulations, these policies, harnessing the blue economy is just a fiasco” she said

Director General of NIMASA, DR. Bashir Jamoh OFR, in his presentation highlighted the positive impact of the Deep Blue Project and the collaboration with Nigerian Navy in reducing piracy and Maritime crimes. He stated the decline in piracy cases attributing the success to the effective implementation of the Deep Blue Project. While presenting an overview of the agency structures and roles in the 3s Tripod, Maritime Safety, Maritime Security and Shipping Development, Dr.Jamoh emphasizes on the crucial linkages between the Blue Economy and various industries contributing to the development of the Nation.

Earlier speaking, the deputy chairman of the house committee Hon. Uduak Alphonsus Odudoh stated the committees commitment to crafting laws that foster the rapid growth of the Blue Economy, stating the need to collaborate, dialogue and fully comprehend the legislative needs of the maritime administration, safety and education sectors. He highlighted the outdated laws and pending bills awaiting presidential assent also ensuring comprehensive coverage and expertise in addressing legislative challenges.