A dramatic scene unfolded in June 2024 on the shore of Okpoama Community in Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Nigeria, as villagers trooped out toward a stranded whale, not to rescue it back into the water, but with machetes, hacksaws and axes to slaughter it for food.
Within hours, the entire whale was butchered and shared among community members.
A resident of the community, Mr. Nengi Omietimi, said incidents like this happen often within five to 10 years, and different communities gather to have their share of the marine mammal.
“A giant whale washed ashore this morning on Okpoama beach. Young men are here doing what they know best, and a lot of people are still queuing and waiting at the beach to get their share of the fish. As you can see, this fish can feed the whole community. The people you’re seeing here came from different communities to get their share of the large mammal,” Omietimi said in an interview with NAN.
The butchered whale at Okpoama community is not the first occurrence of the manslaughter of aquatic mammals in the country. In 2022, Aquaworld reported that two African manatees (Trichechus senegelensis), also known as sea cows, were caught and slaughtered by a fisherman in a remote village called Gaiyingbo in Badagry, Lagos State.
According to the report, fishermen in the region said that manatee meat is in high demand and worth about 250,000 naira in the Nigerian currency. It was observed that large numbers of people were at the spot to purchase the meat.
In September 2023, The Punch Newspaper also reported another incident of a fisherman who caught and slaughtered a shark at Minibie community in Akassa, Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
To these fishermen, these marine creatures are big meals for themselves and their families. Meanwhile, the country just lost some lives below water. For these communities, this was not a violation of protective laws but a literal “godsend” to put food on the table.
As far as conservation experts are concerned, slaying these marine mammals is not a blessing, but a tragedy and a growing crisis threatening both marine lives, human livelihoods and the country’s blue economy.
An aquaculture expert, Paul Eweola, lamented that the continuous killing of marine animals in Nigeria, especially endangered species, is a pressing issue that poses a significant threat to ocean ecosystems. Eweola highlighted that the imbalances in marine food chains, disruptions in ecosystems, and eventual endangerment and extinction of certain species are results of human actions.
He added that overfishing, water pollution, habitat destruction, and climate change have left the country’s aquatic ecosystem with devastating impacts.
Needed but endangered
Over the years, the alarming trendof decline of marine life in Nigerian watersis not just about conserving wildlife for future generations, but also about protecting a key food and income source for coastal communities.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) noted that the fisheries sector is crucial to the country’s economy, with Nigeria being the largest fish consumer in Africa and among the largest fish consumers globally. A 2022 report estimated that over 10 million Nigerians are actively engaged in primary and secondary fisheries operations.
The country also spends $1.2 billion to import 2 million metric tons of fish to meet its annual demand of fish consumption of nearly 3.2 million metric tons of fish, revealing the urgent need for the country to address its heavy reliance on fish imports by managing its own resources.
Nigeria is among the world’s largest shark fishing nations, landing over 10,000 metric tonnes of sharks per year, largely via artisanal and bycatch fisheries. Among shark species landed in Southwest Nigeria, the scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) alone comprises 18.3% of total landed sharks and is listed as critically endangered.
Estimates indicate that one‑third of all sharks, rays and chimaeras globally face extinction risks due to overfishing, habitat loss, and climate change. Nigeria follows the global trend of high demand for shark fins and meat, including the Atlantic stingray in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.
A study on ResearchGate assessed the daisy stingray (Fontitrygon margarita), found along Nigeria’s coast, as vulnerable, and its populations have declined due to intense fishing pressure and habitat degradation. Largetooth sawfish, historically present in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, are now critically endangered globally and have declined drastically in many regions, partly due to artisanal hunting.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified the Atlantic humpback dolphin (Sousa teuszii) native to coastal West Africa, including Nigeria, as extremely at high risk of extinction and critically endangered. A study further revealed that its decline is driven by bycatch in gill nets, habitat loss, overfishing, pollution, including oil spills, sewage runoff, and coastal development disturbances.
IUCN also listed Manatees (West African manatee, Trichechus senegalensis), once native to Nigeria’s mangrove ecosystems, as vulnerable. Local reports from places like Lagos, Bayelsa and Rivers States indicate multiple occurrences of manatees being caught and butchered for meat.
The previous events, such as the Okpoama whale‑butchering incident, sharks and manatees being butchered or eaten, reflect the broader pattern of unregulated exploitation of protected or vulnerable marine species in the country.
No sanctuary in sight
The absence of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Nigeria contributes to the lack of enforcement and safe zones for threatened marine species. According to IUCN, an MPA is “a clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values”.
This obligation aligns with IUCN recommendations and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal SDG 14 on conserving marine resources.
Eweola recommends that “Nigeria should establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in designate areas where our marine life is protected from harmful activities, allowing populations to recover and thrive. Sustainable fishing practices should also be encouraged and enforced,” he said.
Laws on paper, chaos in waters
Environmentally, Nigeria has a suite of laws to regulate and protect its marine mammals, with existing legal frameworks for conserving marine species; however, enforcement is weak.
The killing of stranded whales and sharks, among other aquatic creatures, indicates a dramatic gap between policy and practice. For instance, the Sea Fisheries Act 1992 was established to regulate, control and protect sea fisheries in Nigeria’s territorial waters. TheEnvironmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Act 1992 also mandates the assessment of the potential effects of projects on habitats. The Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) prohibits the killing and trade of endangered species. Despite these laws, implementation and enforcement remain weak, although there are penalties, such as imprisonment or heavy fines, for those who destroy habitats or kill endangered species.
There are more laws– Legal expert
Aside from the above laws, a Climate Law Specialist, Jochebed Tengya, Esq., said there are more laws adopted by Nigeria on an international level to curb environmental issues, including sea-related. She added that the country has also ratified international laws such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
According to her, other governing laws include, “The National Environmental (Protection of Endangered Species in International Trade) Regulations of 2011; National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) Act of 2007 (as amended); National Environmental (Coastal and Marine Area Protection) Regulations, S. I. No 18, 2011; Endangered Species (Control of International Trade and Traffic) Act of 1985; Exclusive Economic Zone Act; and Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency.”
As far as Tengya is concerned, “The laws are not necessarily weak; the issues are the lack of enforcement. No penalties for activities that violate aquatic life, corruption and bribery when caught. Some of the laws are outdated, some lack focus on specific marine life and the absence of marine protected areas.”
While advising Nigerians to be aware and conscious of these laws, she urged citizens to take up responsibility to report, conserve, protect and safeguard marine life, noting that individual and collective activities contribute to the extinction of marine mammals.
She added that efforts to strengthen the existing laws can be done through “Having an Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill (later turned into law) and Marine Life Protection Bill. Government initiatives and NGOs should collaborate with international organisations and community engagements should be encouraged.”
From meal to multi-million dollar asset: Nigeria’s blueprint for blue economy
Nigeria can learn from other coastal developing countries such as South Africa and Kenya that have successfully turned their marine resources into income-generating enterprises.
South Africa’s Gansbaai shark cage diving, which began in the early 1990s when local operators recognised the region’s unique potential, has evolved into a global hub for shark tourism, not only drawing visitors from every corner of the world but significantly boosting the country’s local economy, providing jobs and funding conservation efforts.
In 2011, the Save Our Seas’ report revealed that the White Shark Cage Diving (WSCD) industry contributes a minimum of R30 million (approximately $1.6 million) per annum in direct ticket sales to the South African economy.
Nigeria can also learn from Kenya’s MPAs, which have exemplified how conserving habitats can boost fisheries and tourism. The Kenyan government established a system of marine parks and reserves to conserve and manage its marine ecosystem. According to Marine Life Protectors, Kenya has the oldest managed Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Africa.
A study revealed that in Kenya, marine fisheries form a major component in employment and revenue generation for numerous coastal dwellers. A comparative case study on the co-management in marine protected areas in East Africa shows that 37 per cent of Kenyan community members and 95 per cent Tanzanian community members felt they benefited from the MPA.
According to the International Whaling Commission’s report in 2006, 80 per cent of visitors to Peninsula Valdes in Argentina engaged in whale-watching tourism, which generated over $61 million in revenue for the country.
A Nigerian Blue Economy Strategist, Adejugbagbe Kehinde, stressed that “Educating fishers and coastal dwellers (particularly women and youths) on the status of economically important fish species under the IUCN Red List is critical to protecting endangered marine mammals like whales, sharks, and rays.
“Since, the capture of marine mammals is inevitable, fishers should be trained on improved fishing techniques and equipped with fishing gears or crafts that would allow the release of captured marine mammals,” he said.
Kehinde advocated for strict surveillance and monitoring of Nigerian territorial waters to curb poaching, pollution interdiction, declaration of catch and bycatch, and unbiased enforcement of binding local and international treaties, policies or laws to protect marine mammals.
Ways forward
At the heart of this crisis is a gap in understanding, experts say. They stressed that education, enforcement and empowerment must be the first line of defence.
An Ecotourism and Wildlife Management expert, Dr Sunday Oladeji, emphasised that conservation education, especially in coastal communities, is paramount in Nigeria. “People must be orientated to realise that these marine resources could serve purposes that are beyond consumption,” Oladeji stated.
He pointed to the global blue economy, where marine life drives lucrative, non-consumptive industries. “Many countries are making money, generating income from whale or shark viewing. Orientation and awareness need to be intensified for people to realise that they could derive or source protein meat in another form.”
Oluwatosin John, a Fisheries and Aquaculture expert with over eight years of experience engaging Nigeria’s coastal communities, called for “adequate sensitisation and effective awareness and extension outreach to coastal communities on the need for proper and legal fish capture.” According to him, this education must be backed by tangible support, including providing “alternative means of livelihood and protein source” to ease the immense pressure on wild fish stocks.
Awareness alone is not enough, Eweola said, a robust legal and regulatory framework is crucial to turn the tide. He insisted that Nigeria needs to adopt a “multifaceted approach,” beginning with the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). According to him, these designated zones would serve as sanctuaries where marine life is shielded from harmful activities, allowing threatened populations to recover.
Eweola further stressed that beyond protected areas, there is a need to “mitigate marine pollution” by enforcing regulations against industrial runoff, plastics, and chemicals.
Government should regulate fishing activities
The conservation experts emphasised the urgent need to reform fishing practices in the country. According to them, overfishing, coupled with the use of crude and destructive gear, has severely depleted fish stocks and harmed other marine life.
John said for government-led interventions, “an appropriate quota system should be in place to regulate fishing activities on our water body.” He also called for the regulation of gear sizes to prevent the capture of juvenile fish and a ban on “poisons and other obnoxious practices.”
Oladeji added that, “There is a need for regulation of fishing gears, since some of the equipment used is crude and not standardised.”
To further reduce the strain on the ocean, John advocates for the private sector to champion “cage culture aquaculture on the water body to increase farm fish production and reduce the capture of fish drain.” He urged communities to “fish out defaulters and hand them to security operatives for prosecution,” as such actions will deter illegal practices and serve as a powerful warning.
The experts agree that marine conservation cannot be the sole responsibility of the government. It requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders.
John lays out a clear division of roles. The government, he says, must lead with “active orientation, enforcement of fishing laws, and huge fines to defaulters.” He also sees a vital role for Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to “routinely make it a point of responsibility to do orientation from the schools to the landing sites.”
Eweola emphasised that local communities must be empowered as guardians of their own resources. “There is a need to involve local communities in conservation efforts, ensuring they have a stake in protecting their natural resources,” he said.
By Emmanuel Oluwadola