Sustainability in life below water: managing the exploitation of Nigerian shellfish resources

Abstract

Sustainable Development Goal 14 aims to increase the protection and sustainable management of coastal ecosystems and their resources while addressing threats such as pollution and ocean acidification. Nigeria as a nation with a coastline of approximately 853km facing the Atlantic Ocean is on one hand, at the mercy of the ocean but, on the other hand, the custodian of its resources. These resources like shellfishes sustain us today, and without them future generations will suffer, this is why there is a law against the destructive fishing practices, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities. This article highlights the few priority areas and sustainability challenges for Nigerian shellfish resources as coastal lagoons are fully exploited and increase in harvest of shellfish resources from the lagoons is unlikely. It was noted that despite the availability of regulations, noncompliance by fisher folks has not helped in managing the exploitations. It is therefore recommended that officials need to work with those responsible for social policies, such as employment and other relevant policies, to make sure that the overall government policy direction is coherent and consistent. Also, giving coastal communities access to resources and allowing those access privileges to be traded can help in sustainable management of shellfish resources.