Investigation : Nigerian govt looks away as fishers face deadly and rough attacks, declining stocks (II)

Along Nigeria’s coastal belt, artisanal fishers and women traders face relentless attacks at sea-engine thefts, kidnappings and killings while official reports claim near shore waters are safe. Community leaders say a week hardly passes without an incident. Despite employing over 6 million people and supplying the country’s fish needs, the small scale fishing sector has no functional national policy, registry or credit system . Yet the government’s focus remains on large vessels and oil . Industrial trawlers and foreign fleets drag juvenile fish in “by-catch” across Nigeria’s waters, fueling stock depletion. With weak enforcement and a stalled fisheries policy , coastal livelihoods are slipping into crisis.