Stakeholders urge Nigerians to bridge aquaculture gaps to boost fish export

Some stakeholders in Nigeria’s aquaculture industry have emphasized the importance of bridging the sector’s gaps in order to promote international acceptability of locally bred fish.

This was said by participants at the Norwegian Seafood Council’s capacity training for fishery officers and stakeholders, which is now taking place in Lagos.

Mrs Abbey Cheke, a representative of the Norwegian Seafood Council, emphasized the significance of training and capacity building to prepare the sector for worldwide acceptability.

According to Cheke, the training for Nigerian fishing officers and stakeholders will help the sector meet international standards.

In her words, “The training and capacity building for Nigerian fishery officers and stakeholders is the Norwegian government’s way of bridging the gap in the Nigerian aquaculture sector.

“By God’s grace today, the Norwegian Seafood Council and her government have put together capacity building and training workshop for the aquaculture sector in Nigeria.

“Everybody actively involved in catfish and tilapia farming and export in Nigeria knows that there is a big gap.

“The big gap is that processed fish  whether filleted fresh or smoked catfish or tilapia fish is not allowed to access European markets or any international market.

“Nigerian fish is banned from entry into any international market because of certain logistics we do have in place.

“Norway is our best bet in getting experts to put us through in meeting international best practices when it comes to fish exports.”

She added that Norwegian aquaculture is the most sustainable in the world.