The Federal Government has inaugurated a 17-member technical committee to accelerate domestic fish production and reduce Nigeria’s reliance on fish imports.

Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, inaugurated the committee in Abuja on Thursday, charging members to turn recommendations from a 2025 strategic roundtable into a practical implementation plan.

According to the minister, Nigeria’s domestic fish production remains significantly below national demand, creating concerns for food security, household incomes and foreign exchange.

Oyetola identified high production costs, particularly feed, inadequate access to quality fish seed and broodstock, weak fish-health systems, post-harvest losses and insufficient cold-chain infrastructure among the major challenges facing the sector.

Other constraints include limited access to affordable financing, research and innovation gaps, weak data systems, inadequate standards and traceability, and underdeveloped markets.

The committee is expected to review recommendations from the strategic roundtable held by the ministry and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies on October 29, 2025.

Oyetola said the committee must determine which recommendations should be adopted, refined, incorporated into existing programmes, subjected to further study or discarded as unviable.

It will also map existing initiatives involving government, private-sector and development partners to avoid duplication and make better use of available resources.

The minister directed the committee to produce an implementation roadmap covering priority interventions, responsible institutions, timelines, indicative costs, funding options, performance indicators and necessary approvals.

The roadmap is also expected to identify opportunities for private-sector investment, public-private partnerships and development finance.

The committee, chaired by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Fatima Mahmood, comprises representatives from government, academia, professional bodies, research institutions and the fisheries industry.

Professor Akintola Latunji of Lagos State University said the committee would work with stakeholders to fulfil its mandate and accelerate fish production across Nigeria.

The committee is expected to submit its report within eight weeks.

The Federal Government said in October 2025 that Nigeria had a fish production deficit of more than 2.2 million metric tonnes against an estimated annual requirement of 3.6 million metric tonnes.

At the time, the government said domestic production met only about 38.9 per cent of national demand, leaving the country heavily dependent on imports.

The government has also proposed measures including a Fisheries Bill, a National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy, automation of fisheries operations and a Blue Data Bank, alongside initiatives targeting youth and women in aquaculture.