Niger Delta and Coastal Fisheries

The fisheries run along the whole coast, from Lagos and Ondo states in the west through Delta, Bayelsa and Rivers to Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, and inland through the delta creeks and the lower Niger and Benue rivers. Mangrove and brackish creeks are the nursery grounds for much of the catch, including croaker, catfish, tilapia, shrimp and periwinkle.

Canoe fishing, fish traps, smoking and salting are long-established practices across the delta and coast, and dried and smoked fish moved inland along trade routes described in the pages on trans-Saharan and Atlantic trade. Motorised canoes and nylon nets spread through the twentieth century, and industrial trawling for shrimp and demersal fish developed offshore from the mid-century onwards, alongside the artisanal fleet that still lands most of the domestic catch.

Fisheries are a food and livelihood resource rather than a major export sector, supporting fishing, smoking, trading and boat-building work in coastal communities. Nigeria has long imported large quantities of fish to meet domestic demand. No current catch or import figures are given here.

Coastal and delta fisheries have been affected by mangrove loss, dredging and canalisation, oil spills and refinery and industrial discharges, all of which damage nursery grounds; the spill record is set out on the crude oil page. Overfishing, the use of very fine mesh nets and conflict between trawlers and canoe fishers inshore have also been documented. Where fishing grounds decline, the communities affected have few alternative livelihoods, which is part of the background to delta grievances over resource damage.

The decline of fishing grounds is part of what Ken Saro-Wiwa and Ogoni campaigners raised from the early 1990s, since farming and fishing were the livelihoods most directly affected by pollution in the delta.