On Tuesday, artisanal fishermen in the Niger Delta who operate along the Atlantic coast bemoaned the difficulties they had been experiencing since the CBN’s cashless policy had made their line of work impossible.
Rev. Samuel Ayadi, the Niger Delta Coordinator for the Artisanal Fisherman Association of Nigeria (ARFAN), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa that the lack of gasoline and money had severely hurt fishermen.
He claimed that ever since the CBN implemented a 20,000 maximum daily withdrawal, fishermen had been unable to collect the funds necessary to fuel their outboard motors for fishing expeditions.
He said that members of the association had suspended fishing because of the exorbitant cost of fuel and scarcity of cash.
“Our fishermen in the rural areas cannot survive the exorbitant cost of fuel which is currently above ₦500 per liter and the second obstacle is the ₦20,000 withdrawal limit.
“Our fishing depends heavily on petrol-fuelled outboard engines which require at least 200 litters on a fishing trip and that amounts to N100,000 for just one boat.
“Raising such cash from a few Point of Sale terminal operators has been a challenge.
“There are no banks here in the creeks. Rural coastline fishing camps and our business activities are dominated by cash.
“For two weeks now, we have pulled out of the waters and do not know what to do,’’ Ayadi lamented.
He explained that besides the cash scarcity, sourcing petrol at about N500 per liter and passing the cost to the consumer would make fish unaffordable.
Ayadi appealed to the Federal Government to ensure that the floating mega fuel stations that served coastal settlements were restored to save the rural fishing economy from imminent collapse.
He stressed that fuel and cash scarcities were adversely affecting fish supply.
Ayadi said that as patriotic Nigerians, members of the association would remain committed to providing fish which remains the cheapest source of protein.
