Amid COVID-19, Fishnet wants support for fishers, protection of fishing environment

FishNet Alliance wants government to support fishers in Makoko, Lagos State and in other coastal communities across Nigeria, as well as the protection of the fishing environment amid COVID-19.

This call was made when fishers under FishNet Alliance met in Makoko, recently.

The fishers said they have suffered under COVID-19 lockdown measures that has deprived them of access to fishing grounds and daily income to take care of their families.

At the same time, fishers have been impacted by oilspills along the entire 850 km Atlantic coastline of Nigeria.

Makoko is a community known for fishing but unfortunately its people and their livelihoods are suffering from pollution of their waters and constant threats of displacement from their prime location which luxury property developers desire to grab.

According to Akintimehin Claudius Adewole, leader of the Alliance in Lagos State, there are high activities of sand mining (dredging) going on in the area and this has severely impacted on the livelihoods of the community people.”

Mr Adewole called on the government to support for the fishers and roll out policies that protect the aquatic environment, clean-up already polluted areas and guarantee the rights of the people to a decent livelihood as fishers.

“Our fishers are among the most vulnerable of our country,” Nnimmo Bassey, the Director of HOMEF, said.

“Special measures including ensuring that wastes are not dumped into our water bodies to ensure healthy aquatic species and higher catch for the fishers. It is regretted that thousands of fish died off the Niger Delta coasts between February and May 2020 and to date there is no definitive statement from government about what killed the fish and what actions have been taken to avoid future occurrences.”

Members of FishNet Alliance want relevant government agencies should work with fishers to develop policies that will help protect the aquatic ecosystems, especially in the restoration of polluted areas and the creation of freshwater and marine protected areas.

FishNet Alliance is an Africa-wide network of fishers engaged in and promoting sustainable fishing in line with ecosystem limits.

Vice president of the association of fishers in Lagos State, Mr Segun Seminor implored that the FishNet Alliance be extended to all five divisions of the fishermen association where fishers are also facing the challenge of pollution including from toxic chemicals.

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