The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has called for greater synergy between it and the Federal Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (FDFA).
The call was to ensure safety of fishing vessels and their operators in Nigeria.
The Director General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, made the call in a statement on Friday, signed by Mr Edward Osagie, Assistant Director, Public Relations, NIMASA.
This was at a strategic meeting with officials of FDFA to discuss issues relating to safety of fishing vessels, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, and broader crimes that took place during fishing operations and related matters.
Jamoh noted that there should be adequate information sharing between it and FDFA.
He noted that FDFA had the mandate to license fishing vessels, and NIMASA responsible for registration and survey of the vessels to ensure that unseaworthy vessels were not licensed to operate in Nigerian waters.
According to him, it is important that NIMASA and the FDFA agree to continuously collaborate on modalities for registration, survey and licensing of fishing vessels.
This is to ensure that all safety standards are met before they can be allowed to operate.
“This will drastically reduce incidents involving fishing vessels in our waters,” he said.
On maritime security, Jamoh said with the acquisition and training of operators of the Deep Blue assets, the days of criminal elements in Nigeria’s maritime domain were numbered, as the assets had been fully deployed.
In his remarks, Head of Monitoring, Control and Surveillance at the FDFA Lagos Office, Mr Paul Opuama, thanked NIMASA for hosting the meeting.
He said the meeting provided a very useful opportunity to clear some grey operational areas and foster greater collaboration to improve safety of fishing vessels.