Godfrey George writes on the daily struggles of some Niger Delta fisherwomen
“I set the trap in the evening and check on it in the morning before school. Sometimes, I set it in the morning and check back after school.. It is catfish fishing and it can be stressful, but it helps me to pay some bills. The salary from teaching is barely enough. I used to organise after-school lessons but my husband told me to stop because it was taking a toll on me,” she noted.
She said, “Look at me. I am old. What else am I expected to do at this age? I am not educated and I am not complaining about being uneducated either. I started fishing many years ago. Those who knew me in my youth knew I was among the earliest women who began to fish catfish and crabs around here. I left the fishing scene for a while after I got married but I returned almost immediately because I don’t see myself doing anything else. I have set my traps and I just want to check them.
Speaking about the flood, Olodi said, “The flood comes with a lot of reptiles, running all over the land. At least five kids were reported missing this year alone, carried away by the flood. The challenges are enormous.’’Fisheries production especially from marine is important for the socio-economic development of Nigerians and its contribution to the nation’s economic growth. Nigeria is blessed with enough marine fisheries resources that can enhance increased fish production.
Two lecturers at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Olalekan Olaoye and Wahab Ojebiyi, in a paper titled, “Marine fisheries in Nigeria: A review,” noted that in Nigeria, fisheries, particularly as an important subsector of agriculture, contributes about 3.00 – 5.00 per cent to the agriculture share of the Gross Domestic Product.
In a 2019 report by Feed Strategy, quoting from the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Nigeria’s aquaculture sector in 2017 produced more than 296,000 MT of fish, crustaceans and mollusks worth more than $848m. A nonprofit organisation, WorldFish, estimated that the total fish production in Nigeria was “just under one million MT per year, of which almost 760,000 MT is from small-scale fisheries, and 313,213 MT is derived from aquaculture. To meet demand, fish valued at around $1m is imported according to the report.
According to them, artisanal fisheries employ 18 times more fishermen than industrial fisheries while supporting the welfare of over 100 million persons globally. This implies that though global fish production has increased, marine fisheries’ contribution to total fish production had been on the decrease since 1996.An environmentalist, Mr Michael Simire, who spoke on the issue of pollution, noted that pollutants such as crude oil and gas could affect marine life.Simire said, “When there is an oil spill or leakage, it finds its way into the water bodies. Ultimately, marine life will take this oil into its system.
He cited an incident three years ago when several dead fishes were found floating on the rivers and shores of most areas in Rivers and Bayelsa states. “Most of these fishes are mostly sold by women who buy from other fishermen and women. This is how they manage their own economy. Sometimes, the fishes are processed into higher-value commodities and sold to make more money to feed their families and send their kids to school.
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