Tuna Fishery in the East Central Atlantic Region: The Feasibility of Nigeria's Participation

Tuna fishery is widely practiced in the east central Atlantic region by many fleets of different nationality. Most of the catch is taken by distant-water fleets. The new Law of the Sea convention, which gives coastal states an exclusive economic zone with outer limit of 200 miles, now allows the coastal states to make the most use of the living resources in their waters. The surplus shall be allocated to other states in the region and those traditionally fishing in the area before. Nigeria with a population of about 100 million people spends substantial foreign exchange annually on the importation of fish and fish products from other countries. Due to the current tough economic condition, Nigeria is about to enter tuna fishery in the east central Atlantic Ocean in order to limit the outflow of foreign exchange and to provide more protein to the population. The project looks feasible so far.