New fish policy: Bailout for local players – Vesa

The new fish policy introduced by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has been described as bailout strategy for local players in the fisheries industry.

The Managing Director Vesa Fisheries, Mrs. Vera Aighbe, who said this during an interview with journalists in Lagos, noted that the policy has provided a level playing field for local players as well as promoted increased entrant of local players into the industry.
She said their previous challenges which had been unattended to by former administrations are being tackled with the new Fish Policy.
She said the focus of the new fish policy is to promote fish-sufficiency as Nigeria’s total fish demand is 2.7 million metric tonnes with local production accounting for 800,000 metric tonnes, while a large deficit of 1.9 million metric tonnes is being met by imports.