Port regulation key to unlocking Nigeria’s fisheries, blue economy — Akutah
Paul Ogbuokiri
Transparent and predictable port economic regulation is critical to lowering logistics costs, attracting investment and unlocking the potential of Nigeria’s fisheries and wider blue economy, the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA), Dr. Pius Akutah, has said.
Akutah, who spoke at the Maritime Correspondents’ Organisation of Nigeria (MARCON) National Conference on Sustainable Fishing in Apapa, Lagos, said efforts to grow Nigeria’s fisheries sector must go beyond increasing fish production to addressing the infrastructure, logistics and regulatory bottlenecks that constrain the movement of fish from landing sites to consumers and export markets.
The conference was themed, “Sustainable Fishing in Nigeria: Pathways to Growth, Food Security and Coastal Livelihoods.”
Speaking on “Port Economic Regulation as a Catalyst for Sustainable Fishing and Blue-Economy Development in Nigeria,” Akutah said Nigeria’s maritime economy extended beyond shipping and cargo handling to include fisheries, aquaculture, coastal commerce, marine services, logistics and tourism.
He noted that although many artisanal fishers did not directly use major seaports, the broader port and maritime logistics system remained important to the fisheries value chain.
According to him, fishing vessels and operators depend on imported equipment and components, while processors require machinery, packaging materials and refrigeration equipment. Seafood exporters, he added, rely on efficient cargo handling, documentation and transportation to access domestic and international markets.
Akutah identified high input costs, inadequate cold-chain infrastructure, post-harvest losses, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, limited access to finance and governance challenges as major constraints to the sector.
“The central proposition is that transparent, predictable, evidence-based and coordinated economic regulation can reduce friction throughout the fisheries value chain, promote investment and trade, improve food security and strengthen coastal livelihoods,” he said.
He warned that excessive or unclear charges, weak service standards, fragmented procedures and avoidable delays could raise the cost of fish and undermine the competitiveness of Nigerian seafood in domestic and export markets.
Akutah explained that port economic regulation went beyond tariffs to encompass service standards, competition, market access, commercial conduct and dispute resolution.
He said the regulatory framework under the Port Economic Regulations 2015 provided for tariff guidelines, monitoring of service standards, protection of competition, prevention of abuse of dominant market positions, dispute resolution, promotion of efficiency and reduction of the cost of doing business.
The framework, he added, also sought to encourage private-sector investment and monitor concession agreements.
He said the transfer in 2026 of the former economic-regulatory functions of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council to NPERA provided an opportunity to strengthen regulation across the port system.
While NPERA is responsible for areas including tariffs and charges, licensing, service standards, fair competition, commercial dispute resolution, trade facilitation and protection of port users, Akutah clarified that the Nigerian Ports Authority retained responsibility for port infrastructure and its landlord functions.
The NPERA chief executive said the price consumers pay for fish was influenced by a long chain of costs extending beyond harvesting, including fuel, vessel maintenance, landing, ice, storage, transportation, inspection, documentation and port services.
He therefore advocated transparent tariffs, publication of approved charges, closer monitoring of billing practices and effective dispute-resolution mechanisms to eliminate unnecessary costs and commercial disputes.
Akutah also called for measurable service standards across the port system, particularly because fisheries products are highly perishable.
Delays in inspection, documentation, cargo release and transportation, he said, could lead to spoilage, deterioration in product quality and financial losses for operators.
He identified documentation turnaround, inspection coordination, reefer handling, power availability, gate operations and complaint resolution as areas requiring clear and measurable performance standards.
He further urged regulators to create conditions capable of attracting investment in cold storage, ice plants, reefer facilities and temperature-controlled transportation, which he described as essential to reducing post-harvest losses.
On seafood exports and regional trade, Akutah said efficient documentation, certification, inspection, cargo handling and customs procedures were essential to improving Nigeria’s competitiveness.
He advocated greater interoperability among port, customs, maritime, fisheries, health and other government systems to eliminate repetitive submissions and speed up cargo clearance.
He cited the International Maritime Organisation’s Maritime Single Window framework as an important reference for achieving greater digital integration.
Akutah identified efficiency, predictability, inclusion, accountability and sustainability as five principles that should guide port economic regulation in support of the blue economy.
He said these principles would reduce the time and cost of moving fisheries products, provide greater certainty for fishers, processors and investors, improve access for small businesses and artisanal operators, strengthen accountability through published charges and performance data, and prevent trade facilitation measures from inadvertently supporting illegally harvested fish.
He proposed the development of a fisheries logistics window to provide standardised documentation and inspection procedures, priority processing where justified, and escalation mechanisms for time-sensitive fisheries and temperature-controlled cargo.
He also called for logistics planning that links coastal landing sites and production areas with processing centres, cold stores, inland waterways, roads, railways, ports, airports and markets.
According to him, NPERA must work with maritime, fisheries, customs, environmental, standards and state authorities to coordinate responsibilities, share data and resolve bottlenecks across the fisheries value chain.
He also advocated the incorporation of energy-efficient cold storage, renewable energy, improved waste management, cleaner cargo-handling equipment and emissions-reduction measures into port and concession standards.
Akutah stressed that the success of fisheries reforms should not be measured by fish production alone, but by their impact on food availability and affordability, employment, income generation and environmental sustainability.
He said port reforms must also take account of small-scale and artisanal operators who may not directly use major seaports but depend on affordable ice, fuel, equipment, transportation, finance and access to markets.
He therefore urged policymakers to link port reforms with improvements at coastal landing sites, cooperative development, access to finance, skills development and market-information systems.
Among the measures he proposed were a whole-value-chain approach to port regulation, transparent and evidence-based tariff-setting, accelerated interoperability among maritime, port, customs and fisheries digital systems, and a national fisheries logistics and cold-chain investment plan connecting production and landing areas to processors, markets and ports.
He also called for stronger traceability and risk-based controls against illegal fishing, concession and licensing arrangements that encourage investment in cold-chain, digital and green infrastructure, as well as a public dashboard of selected port-performance indicators covering trade facilitation, service quality and fisheries logistics.
Akutah said Nigeria’s blue-economy ambitions would ultimately depend not only on the abundance of its marine resources but on its ability to build institutions and infrastructure capable of converting those resources into value efficiently, inclusively and sustainably.
He said the success of the new NPERA framework should be reflected in fewer avoidable delays, transparent charges, improved service quality, stronger cold-chain investment, better market access, reduced waste and greater value retained by legitimate businesses and coastal communities.
“Sustainable fishing requires sustainable logistics, and sustainable logistics requires sound economic regulation,” Akutah said.
He added that aligning port regulation with fisheries sustainability, digital trade facilitation, investment promotion and coastal livelihood objectives could transform Nigerian ports from mere cargo gateways into infrastructure supporting food security, trade, jobs and a resilient blue economy.