FG inaugurates technical sub-committee on registration of new fish varieties

The Federal Government has inaugurated a 12-man technical sub-committee on Naming, Registration and Release of Fisheries varieties.

Already, technical sub-committees existed for crops and livestock while the new fisheries technical sub-committee would operate in similar fashion with the other two.

The setting up of the sub-committees by the Federal Government is for farmers to get better grade of high yielding varieties of crops, livestock and now, fishes.

Oladosu Awoyemi, chairman, National Varieties Release Committee (NVRC), has expressed the hope that new varieties of high yielding fish breeds will be introduced to Nigerian fish farmers soon.

Awoyemi, who spoke in Ibadan at NVRC’s secretariat, the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), says: “I hope setting up this committee will make it possible for new fish varieties to be brought into the Nigerian market soon,” saying the sub-committee’s importance is underlined by the fact that fish is consumed much more in Nigeria than beef and chicken.

“Almost every household eats fish. I am surprised that this committee had not come up until now, but it is never too late,” he says.

The basic work of the sub-committee is to register and approve new varieties of fishes as well as develop a database for already existing varieties.

In his address, Sunday Aladele, acting registrar of NACGRAB, notes that the fisheries sub-sector is too large and important for its committee to be put under the livestock sub-committee, saying that up to date, over 500 crop varieties have been registered by the sub-committee on crops, which began active work in 1991.

The acting registrar says there is the possibility of more sub-committees being inaugurated in the future as the work and responsibilities of all the major sub-committees increase.

The six members of the fisheries sub-committee and experts in fisheries present at the inauguration were Ofelia Omitogun, a professor from Obafemi Awolowo University, and Oyedapo Fagbenro, a professor from Federal University of Technology, Akure.

Others were Augustine Okaeme from National Freshwater and Fishery Research Institute, New – Bussa, Sam Otubusin, a professor from Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Bamidele Omitoyin, a professor, and Emmanuel Ajani, both from University of Ibadan.

Speaking on behalf of the members after the inauguration, committee chairman, Omitogun says they would live up to expectation by working as meticulously as possible to ensure that Nigeria excelled in development of better varieties of fisheries and overall fish production.

By: Remi Feyisipo