Caleb I. Adewale , Uttam Deb

Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries, University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, AR 71601, USA
Author    Correspondence author
International Journal of Aquaculture, 2026, Vol. 16, No. 5   doi: 10.5376/ija.2026.16.0025
Received: 23 Jul., 2026    Accepted: 12 Sep., 2026    Published: 27 Sep., 2026

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Adewale C.I., and Deb U., 2026, Trends in fish production and consumption in nigeria: implications for food and nutrition security, Nigeria, International Journal of Aquaculture, 16(5): 334-345 (doi: 10.5376/ija.2026.16.0025)

Fish is a vital source of animal protein in Nigeria and offers numerous health benefits. Yet, limited data on fish production and consumption hamper the efforts of policymakers to improve access to protein-rich fish diets in the country. This study examined the recent trends in the country's production and consumption of fishery products using secondary data from FAO FishstatJ. Results revealed that total fish production in Nigeria increased 3.4 times, from 316 thousand metric tons in 1990 to 1.05 million metric tons in 2023. Three-fourths of the total fish production in 2023 was from capture fisheries. Fish consumption in Nigeria has fluctuated over the years. Per capita seafood consumption increased from 10.86 kg in 1990 to 15.07 kg in 2011 and then gradually declined to 6.9 kg in 2023. Increasing fish consumption and reducing malnutrition in Nigeria will depend to a large extent on the sustainable management of fisheries resources and increased aquaculture production.

Aquaculture; Capture fisheries; Fish; Food security; Nigeria; Nutrition