The Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy has stated that Nigeria recorded an increase of 300,000 metric tonnes in fish production in 2025.

It disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Special Adviser to the Minister, Dr Bolaji Akinola, adding that the feat was the first rise in over a decade.

The statement said that in 2025, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, broke stubborn jinxes that had been constraining Nigeria’s maritime growth.

It described the rise in fish production as a clear testament to the minister’s determination to reduce, and ultimately eliminate, the country’s heavy dependence on fish importation, while boosting food security, employment, and value creation across the fisheries and aquaculture value chain.

“Nigeria recorded an increase of 300,000 metric tonnes in fish production in 2025, the first such rise in over a decade,” Akinola said in the statement. While assuring the minister’s commitment to boosting fish production, he stressed that Nigeria’s maritime sector has entered a decisive phase of renewal following a series of far-reaching interventions by Oyetola.

Akinola emphasised that the sector has been decisively unlocked for genuine growth and development under Oyetola’s leadership, with several long-standing jinxes once thought permanent having been successfully broken.

He said Oyetola’s actions since assuming office in August 2023, and most notably throughout 2025, have dismantled obstacles that constrained the sector for decades.

These reforms, he noted, have restored confidence, improved performance, and repositioned the marine and blue economy as a critical pillar of Nigeria’s economic diversification agenda.

Foremost among these achievements, he said, was the resolution of the notorious Apapa gridlock, which for over 20 years paralysed the Lagos port corridor and severely disrupted trade.

“By early 2024, sustained policy coordination, operational discipline, and infrastructure optimisation delivered lasting relief to Apapa and its environs.

“The clearing of the gridlock significantly reduced cargo dwell time, lowered logistics costs, enhanced port efficiency, and removed a major disincentive to investment, effectively restoring the Lagos ports as functional gateways for national and regional commerce,” Akinola stressed.

Another long-standing setback, according to him, was Nigeria’s prolonged absence from the International Maritime Organisation Council.

He noted that Nigeria’s return to the IMO Council in 2025, after 14 years outside the global maritime decision-making body, followed a keenly contested election and marked a major restoration of the country’s international maritime standing.