Fishermen Decry Influx Of Foreign Fishing Trawlers

Peasant fishermen in the
Niger Delta have decried the influx of foreign fishing trawlers in Nigerian territorial waters of the Atlantic coastline reserved for them.
The traditional fishermen under the auspices of Artisan Fishermen Association of Nigeria (ARFAN) said that the foreign trawlers were operating near the coastline illegally, in contravention of international maritime laws.
The fishermen said that international convention reserved 25 nautical miles from the coastline to indigenous fishermen and solicited the assistance of the Nigerian Navy to ward off the intruding vessels.
The Niger Delta Coordinator of ARFAN, Mr Samuel Ayadi, told newsmen in Yenagoa that the fishing methods used by the foreign trawlers posed threat to local fishermen.
He said that industrial fishing was restricted to deep sea while the local fishermen were allowed to fish near the coast.
Ayadi said that rather than fishing outside Nigerian waters, the trawlers had invaded the coastline and damaged the fishing nets of subsistence fishermen.
“The fishing practices of these big double decks trawlers is affecting local fishermen.
“They switched off their lights in the night and we run into them and they capsize our boats and we lose our catch in the process,” he said
Ayadi said that if the influx of the Chinese trawlers were not checked, they would soon deplete the fish stocks, since they killed fishes of all sizes including fingerlings.
He said that they selected the big fishes and polluted the waters with unwanted dead fishes.
“The trawlers are big obstacles to fishing near the shores. They are over-fishing and their nets sweep the ocean floor and damage our own nets and carry them away.
“Industrial fishing is supposed to take place in the high seas and not near the coastline.
“They are not supposed to be fishing near the shoreline.
“The rule is that they should fish from at least 25 nautical miles from the coast but they have refused to comply,” Ayadi said.
He also appealed to the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to protect the interest of Nigerian traditional fishermen who lacked the resources to compete with industrial fishing vessels.