Lagos – The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside, has urged maritime stakeholders to protect the marine environment from invasive species in Nigeria’s territorial waters as ballast water from ships.
This is contained in a statement by the Head, Corporate Communications Team of NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka, on Tuesday in Lagos.
Peterside, made the call at a meeting with members of the National Task Force for the Implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention 2004.
The director-general said that NIMASA’s commitment to ensuring the sustainability of the environment had always been at the front burner.
He also called on stakeholders to be mindful of activities that could lead to the deterioration of the marine environment.
According to him, the long years of exploitation and exploration of available resources in our marine environment has made it fragile.
“We have a responsibility of ensuring that the environment remains sustainable for the generations yet unborn,’’ the director-general said.
Peterside said that while vessels carried ballast water for stability, the water and sediments therein had become a platform for the conveyance of alien invasive species into our environment.
According to him, this makes it mandatory for the agency to tackle this menace in line with International Maritime Organisation (IMO) regulations.
Peterside said that, “ballast water and the sediments therein have become a platform for conveyance of invasive aquatic species into our environment which could be dangerous in the long run.’’
He stressed the need to tackle the scourge before it becomes uncontrollable.
“NIMASA is, therefore, committed to ensuring that the Ballast Water Management Convention 2004 is implemented in Nigeria,’’ the director-general said.
He urged members of the task force to develop a policy and work plan for the implementation of the Ballast Water Management Roadmap for Ballast Water Movement in Nigeria.
According to him, this would ultimately protect the environment from alien invasive species.
In his address, Prof. Babajide Alo, Chairman of the National Task Force and a former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, said that the issue of invasive species had become worrisome.
Alo said that Nigeria should seek solutions to the problem of water hyacinth.
Nigeria is one of the first eight countries which adopted the Ballast Water Management Convention 2004.
It is the 14th leading country in the GEF-UNDO-IMO Globallast partnership, a group set up by the IMO to give technical support to other member states on the implementation of the convention. (NAN)
