COVID-19: Akwa Ibom Fishermen Get Food, Fishing Gears From Group
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An environmental friendly group known as FishNet Alliance on Saturday, August 29 distributed palliatives to fishermen in Akwa Ibom to cushion the adverse impact of the COVID-19 on their livelihoods.
The group is a coalition of artisanal fishing groups across Africa supported by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), a Nigerian Environmental Rights focused Non Government Organisation.
More than 100 fishermen who also suffered a fire outbreak at Ibeno, a coastal fishing settlement benefited from the gesture by FishNet Alliance.
It advocated support for fishermen in coastal communities across Nigeria whose livelihoods have been adversely impacted by COVID-19 and other human-induced environmental factors.
Rev Nnimmo Bassey, Director of HOMEF noted that the beneficiaries were selected from fishing locations along the Atlantic coastline in Ibeno, Eket, Esit Eket, Mkpat Enin,and Onna Local Government Areas of Akwa Ibom.
He said the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions on movements have seriously impacted Fishermen and farmers in this community who have no formal jobs and rely on their daily fishing expeditions for sustenance.
He noted that fishermen are essential to both local and international economies, but unfortunately, are among the most vulnerable groups especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to him, “The continuous pollution of the Niger Delta by oil and gas related activities are unacceptable and government must heed to the call for the cleanup of the entire polluted Niger Delta communities”.
Bassey emphasized that government must recognize and restore the dignity and rights of the people of the coastal communities to decent livelihoods.
“Looking back to the incidence of dead fish along the coastlines of Niger Delta between February and May 2020, it has been traumatic for thousands of fishermen who were thrown out of their means of livelihood.
“It is regrettable that months after shoals of fish died in the area there has been no definitive statement from government about what killed the fish and what actions have been taken to avoid repeat of such occurrences.
“It should be recalled that the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) had reported that there were 1,300 oil spills in the Niger Delta between 2018 or 2019.
“It is astonishing that we could have an average of 5 oil spills a day in the Niger Delta without government declaring a state of environmental emergency in the entire region. This is unacceptable,” Bassey lamented.
Rev. Sam Ayadi, Chairman of the FishNet Alliance in Akwa Ibom, called on the government to consult and engage fishermen in the drafting of policies to protect the aquatic ecosystems.
The consultation, he said would enable government come up with all-inclusive policies that ensure the safeguarding of the rivers, creek and seas as well as guarantee their livelihoods as fishermen.
He enjoined the government to hold the companies that are polluting their environment accountable for their actions.
