The Nigerian Trawler Owners Association (NTOA) on Friday called for the establishment of a fishing terminal in Lagos to regulate the fishing business.

The President of the association, Mr. Akinsola Amire, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He explained that establishing a terminal for the regulation of the business was necessary as it would address food security concerns among importers of the product from Nigeria and help develop the fishing value chain, namely: production, processing, storage, and marketing.

“I think you understand why we need to have a fishing terminal in Lagos.

“Because if for example every fishing company has its own jetty, how do you regulate? How do you monitor? What of the security concerns?

“How do you know what these people are bringing? Is it fish only or fish plus God-knows-what?

“So, if you have all of them operating somewhere it is easy for government agencies to monitor the operation both in terms of what is brought in, what is caught, what is landed and what is exported out of this country.

“Because the law is that you cannot export anything caught from Nigerian waters except it is first landed in a port in Nigeria.

“So it would have been easier for government to take data of landings, exports, processing and what l will call measuring the value chain.”

According to mire, it is not ideal for fishing companies to set up cold rooms outside the port premises or operate from porter cabins and do business with Temporary Operating Licenses.

He argued that companies operating from porter cabins could not make long-term business plans as they would only be exiting on a temporary basis. (NAN)

•Photo shows Fish on display