The total investment of Nigerians in fish production now stands at over N23 billion, Mrs. Foluke Areola, President, Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON), has disclosed. Areola, in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Wednesday, said the amount represented investment in aquaculture, especially catfish farming between 2001 and 2006.

According to her, the huge investment has led to a boost in catfish fingerling production from two million tonnes per annum to 30 million tonnes of fingerlings worth about N300 million, thereby leading to a general increase in fish production from 30,000 metric tonnes in 2000/2001 to 80,000 tonnes as at December 2006.
In spite of the noticeable improvement in fish production, she said that Nigeria was yet to meet the standards stipulated by Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and WHO, which recommended a daily intake of 12.7 kilograms of fish per person.

She said fish still remained the preferred sources of animal protein for healthy living and urged the government to boost public accessibility to the product.
Areola, called for adequate attention to the sector because of its job creation potential, saying that fish production, and packaging net repairs, fabrication and storage were areas that can be exploited by government to eradicate poverty and create employment opportunities.
She advocated establishment of modern fish markets, saying that this "holds the key to a private sector-led strategy for food security, growth and development of the fisheries sub-sector."

The FISON boss further stated that the "development and establishment of fly-proof fish markets with adequate water supply and sanitation, will enhance the improvement of fish quality, enabled customers to have value for their money, remove middle-men activities and reduce health hazards to consumers.
"Also, all fish retailers (fresh or smoked fish) should sell their fish in fly proof tables or refrigerated cabinet to keep them healthy. She decried to keep them healthy.

She decried the high cost, quality and formulation of fish feeds, saying that a situation where fish feed accounted for 60 per cent of production costs does not augur well for the sector.

"Most feed producers import fish meal to mix with local ingredients, the ability of farmers to produce good quality, nutrition feeds at a low price would encourage investment in the sector," she added.