Fisheries society holds annual confab in Abuja

The conference, tagged “ABUJA 2013” with the theme “The Impact of Climate Change on Fisheries and Aquaculture Productivity” will be attended by industrial trawler operators, table fish and fish fingerlings farmers, fish exporters, importers of fish feed, producers and distributors of fisheries equipment and accessories, strategic federal ministries, departments and agencies as well as stakeholders […]

The conference, tagged “ABUJA 2013” with the theme “The Impact of Climate Change on Fisheries and Aquaculture Productivity” will be attended by industrial trawler operators, table fish and fish fingerlings farmers, fish exporters, importers of fish feed, producers and distributors of fisheries equipment and accessories, strategic federal ministries, departments and agencies as well as stakeholders from within and abroad.
Speaking on the annual conference in Lagos, President of the society, Dr Abba Abdullah, said the conference would provide the participants the opportunity to reminiscence over the fisheries sub-sector and chart a future for the sector.
Abdullah noted that fisheries have substantial social, economic, nutritional and food security importance and the contribution of fisheries to the nation’s socio-economic wealth are enormous when considered against the background of employment creation, income generation, provision of valuable animal protein, rural development and foreign exchange inflow through export of shrimp and other fisheries products.
According to him, fisheries account for 5 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is not only cheap source of protein, micro-nutrients and essential fatty acids, but provide important complement to the predominantly carbohydrate-based diet of many poor people in Nigeria.
Speaking on some of the challenges of the fisheries sector, Abdullah noted that one of the most dramatic events of the moment is the reality of global climate change, adding, “With particular reference to fisheries, we’ll ponder on some real and potential problems associated with the phenomenon.”