Nigeria is spending less on imported fish. The country's fish import bill fell to ₦167.91 billion in the second quarter of 2026, down 14.8% from ₦197.17 billion in the same quarter of 2025, Vanguard reported on 24 September 2026, citing National Bureau of Statistics foreign trade data. Ships and Ports reported the same 14.8% decline.
Blue Whiting Still Dominates
Blue whiting remained the largest fish import by value at ₦96.93 billion, down 16.5% from ₦116.13 billion a year earlier. It made up 57.7% of the quarter's fish import bill.
A Sharp Shift to Herring
The biggest change was in herring. Herring imports rose from ₦9.84 billion in the second quarter of 2025 to ₦62.74 billion in the second quarter of 2026, an increase of 537.6%. Herring now accounts for 37.4% of Nigeria's fish import bill.
Mackerel went the other way. Imports fell from ₦6.32 billion to ₦2.20 billion, a drop of 65.2%. The pattern points to buyers switching between frozen fish species, with herring taking market share from mackerel.
Where the Fish Comes From
The imports came from the Netherlands, the Faroe Islands, Ireland, Poland, Germany, Chile, South Korea, Peru, Russia, China and Mauritania, according to the NBS data reported by Vanguard.
The Case for Local Supply
A smaller import bill does not by itself mean Nigerians are eating more locally produced fish. It can also mean households are buying less. Vanguard cited Vishwajit Sinha, chief executive of Greenview Fertilizer Corporation, who noted that Nigeria imports almost $1.5 billion of fishery products a year despite having 850km of coastline.
Frozen fish is one of the most affordable sources of animal protein for Lagos households, and blue whiting and herring are staples of everyday stews and soups. Changes in import volumes and species reach market stalls quickly.
FoodPrices Nigeria will track whether the shift in fish imports shows up in the prices Lagos households pay for frozen fish.