Stopping trend of rotten, expired fish imports into Nigeria

March 26, 2014, an importer brought in large quantities of fish with April 1, 2014, as expiring date. Foluke Areola, acting director of fisheries, said the importer was asked why he decided to import fish that could not be completely sold and consumed in five days into Nigeria, he said: “The seller in the country I imported it from said it was okay to import into Nigeria because they would finish consuming it in three months’ time.” Meanwhile, one day after the expiring date, it would be a criminal offence to sell such fish in that country.

But importers bring in fish for human consumption that if it was expired but not yet rotten in the country of origin would be used in compounding animal feeds.

Though some rotten fish brought into Nigeria do not show expiring date on the package, yet there are discolouration, bulging or sunken eyes, mutilated bodies of the fish and so on. It is even more interesting to note that the fish are not even necessarily cheaper.

According to figures made available, 95.7 metric tons of fish intercepted by the Federal Department of Fisheries Monday in Lagos cost an average of about N500 per kilo. A kilo of locally produced catfish costs about the same amount. But over the years, due to massive imports of fish, and domestic production that was very low, Nigerians have cultivated a taste for imported fish and even the locally produced fish are shunned by some consumers, not minding that fresh fish are adjudged to be more nutritious and safer health-wise by health experts.

In very recent years, therefore, attempts by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to reduce fish imports have been met with stiff opposition, not only by importers but also by some Nigerians even though this policy also entails that all importers invest in local fish production. The country’s clamour for and heavy dependence on food imports has given rise to racketeering whereby expired or rotten fish sold to importers at lesser prices are brought into Nigeria and sold at cut-throat prices in the market.

Also interesting is the fact that in spite of some government agencies at the port, rotten fish gets cleared to enter into the market.

Rasheed Olajide, administrative manager at an Indian-owned firm in Lagos, where large consignment of fish were intercepted on Monday, said the handling at the ports contributed to spoilage of fish. This may seem to imply that it is at the Nigerian ports that the fish gets spoilt.

But when questioned on the poor packaging of the fish, as they were not packaged according to international standards, he blamed the country it was imported from. He said: “Russia, the country the fish was imported from, does not conform to internationally accepted standards in packaging.”

According to officials of the Federal Department of Fisheries, there is supposed to be a layer of nylon or polythene sheets of good quality separating every layer of fish packed in a carton. Secondly, the fish is supposed to be well washed before packaging. These flaws were noticed in the rotten fish, which may have hastened the spoilage.

For Areola, when there are bulging eyes in fish, there is likelihood that the method of fishing and method of freezing are faulty.

Adunni Adeniyi, assistant director, quality control of the Federal Department of Fisheries, said “a major challenge is that immediately imported fish is cleared at the port, majority of it is sold at the port and enters the Nigerian market. But due to regularisation of the ports, the Federal Department of Fisheries is not one of the agencies that carries out inspection at the port. So, the department’s new policy is a mandate preventing importers from offloading fish from their refrigerated trucks until it is inspected by officials of the department.”

OLUYINKA ALAWODE