Nigeria convened fisheries stakeholders from across government, the private sector and development partners to examine barriers affecting the sector and identify opportunities to expand trade, investment and employment for women and youth.

The National Fisheries Stakeholders Forum, held from 3–5 March 2026, brought together actors to assess constraints affecting fisheries and aquaculture value chains and to explore pathways for strengthening the participation of women and youth fish trade. The forum was held under the auspices of the Women and Youth Economic Empowerment in Fisheries programme, a five-year initiative led by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and TradeMark Africa in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.

Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Fatima Mahmood, who graced the forum, said the Federal Government of Nigeria, said: “The whole essence of this stakeholders forum is to engage with the fisheries stakeholders in Nigeria to see what the barriers to trade are and how we can simplify and enable the participation, particularly of youth and women”, adding that the Nigerian Government was fully committed to supporting such partnership.

Stakeholders examined issues including compliance with market standards, access to finance, cross-border trade procedures and the impact of non-tariff barriers on fisheries trade. They also discussed ways to enhance the participation of women and young people in fisheries and aquaculture value chains while addressing challenges that limit their access to high value markets.

“We believe the AfCFTA presents enough economies of scale to justify investments in the sector and allow Nigerian producers to expand their markets beyond the country,” said Themba Khumalo, Director of the Private Sector Unit at the AfCFTA Secretariat. “We are here to engage with stakeholders in the fisheries sector to look at areas where we can intervene to help those involved in the sector produce more and trade under the AfCFTA”.

Anataria Uwamariya acknowledged the collaboration with partners such as the Federal Government of Nigeria and WorldFish in convening the forum, noting that this would serve as building blocks for stakeholders in Nigeria to identify opportunities for unlocking the potential for the country’s and the region’s fisheries sector. WorldFish Nigeria Country Representative, Dr Charles Iyangbe noted that this partnership would help reverse Nigeria’s reliance on fish imports and strengthen local production, noting, “we are delighted that we are forging this level of partnership to change the current dynamics”.

Nigeria’s fisheries sector remains central to food security and rural livelihoods, with fish providing a significant share of the country’s animal protein and supporting employment across production, processing and trade.