Protect Local Fishers First: Oyetola Warns New Investors

L-R: Founder and CEO of CRD Impex, Hanefi Cardak; Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola; and General Manager, Fisheries at CRD Impex, Cem Tarhan, during a courtesy visit by the Turkish fisheries and aquaculture investment team to the minister’s office in Abuja.

By Olabisi Akinpelu, Correspondent

New investments in Nigeria’s fisheries must empower local fishers rather than push them aside.

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola, stated this while meeting with a Turkish investor group, CRD Impex, led by Cem Tarhan in his office.

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Mrs Fatima Mahmood; Founder and CEO of CRD Impex, Hanefi Cardak; Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola; General Manager, Fisheries at CRD Impex, Cem Tarhan; and Founder, Tetra Underwater Services and Marine Construction, Ersun Buyukgoze. during a courtesy visit by the Turkish fisheries and aquaculture investment team to the minister’s office in Abuja, recently

He promised that the government will build a friendly space for both local and foreign investors in the marine sector.

According to Dr. Bolaji Akinola, Special Adviser to the Minister, Oyetola identified several major challenges facing Nigeria’s artisanal fisheries sector, including inadequate infrastructure, limited technology, storage constraints, weak cold-chain systems, and poor market access.

However, he noted that these gaps offer significant investment opportunities to modernise the value chain and boost local producers’ livelihoods.

According to Oyetola, the Federal Government’s approach is to transform these challenges into opportunities while ensuring that investments in the sector remain inclusive and sustainable.

“We welcome investors who can bring capital, technology, expertise and modern value-chain solutions to the sector. However, investment must be inclusive and sustainable. It must complement and empower our artisanal fish producers, not undermine their livelihoods,” Oyetola said.

The Turkish investment team, CRD Impex, said it was in Nigeria to explore investment opportunities in the fishing sector.

Tarhan said the company had extensive experience in fisheries and aquaculture in Turkey and was interested in bringing its expertise and investment capacity to Nigeria.

As part of the engagement, the Turkish investors, accompanied by officials of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, visited several fisheries and aquaculture facilities across the country to assess investment opportunities and gain first-hand knowledge of Nigeria’s fisheries value chain.

Among the facilities visited were the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal in Lagos, Ozumba Mbadiwe Fish Market in Lekki, Lagos, and Esuk Nsidung Beach Market, a major waterfront seafood and trading hub in Esiere Ebom, Henshaw Town, Calabar, Cross River State.