The International Maritime Institute of Nigeria (IMION) has unveiled a five-pillared strategic framework designed to salvage the country’s collapsing fisheries, secure coastal livelihoods and aggressively confront national food insecurity.

The Director General, IMION, Rear Admiral Thaddeus Udofia (rtd), stressed that the implementation of five strategic pillars, including unified regulatory enforcement, data-driven maritime policy, aggressive aquaculture transition, advanced intelligence monitoring and community-led co-management, would reverse the decline and drive socioeconomic prosperity through Nigeria’s expanding Blue Economy.

Udofia stated this while delivering his keynote address at the Maritime Correspondents’ Organisation of Nigeria (MARCON) National Conference, held in Apapa, Lagos, under the central theme, “Sustainable Fishing in Nigeria—Pathways to Growth, Food Security and Coastal Livelihoods,”

The IMION chief issued a stark warning regarding the current state of Nigeria’s marine resources, demanding an immediate shift from vulnerability to disciplined execution.

“To transition from vulnerability to long-term sustainability and food security, Nigeria must boldly chart a new course defined by disciplined execution and measurable performance indicators,” Udofia stated.
Udofia said Nigeria should urgently harmonise the competencies of maritime security agencies, port economic regulators, and fisheries departments.

He said the celebrated successes of the Nigerian Navy in suppressing piracy and combatting Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing must now be systematically expanded across the entire domestic fisheries domain.

The IMION chief also stated that marine management cannot be driven by guesswork, noting that the Federal Government should empower premier research institutions to generate empirical data on fish stock assessments.

According to him, national policies, including catch limits, closed seasons and marine protected areas, must be anchored on a credible scientific backbone and strictly enforced.

Udofia further stated that the nation should transition aggressively from unpredictable wild-capture fisheries to technologically driven aquaculture, noting that deploying modern cage culture systems within coastal lagoons holds the key to rapidly erasing Nigeria’s national food deficit.

He all stressed that strategic investments in cold-chain infrastructure, processing technology, and institutional training will drastically reduce post-harvest losses, transforming fishing from a speculative survival trade into a sophisticated wealth-generating enterprise for women and youth.

IMION advocated for data-driven marine spatial planning fueled by robust Blue Economy knowledge systems.

Udofia said Nigeria requires the immediate deployment of advanced Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and satellite surveillance, alongside stricter enforcement of catch quotas, to ensure industrial fishing fleets leave sufficient room for nature and coastal communities to regenerate.

He argued that top-down enforcement alone cannot achieve sustainable fishing, noting that the true heart of Nigeria’s Blue Economy beats within its millions of coastal dwellers who have lived in tandem with the sea for generations.

He said the government should institutionalise Community-Based Fisheries Management (CBFM) by empowering local cooperative societies and granting them legitimate co-management rights.

According to him, when communities possess a legal, vested ownership stake in their marine environment, they naturally become the frontline defense against destructive practices.