TNMN’s group, Ezinne Azunna and Chinyere Okoye as of late talked with Dr. Adesina Adegbie, a Director and Head of Marine Geology Geophysics at the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), in Lagos, Nigeria.

Dr. Adegbie additionally fills in as a Commissioner with United Nations Legal and Technical Commission of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) , Kingston, Jamaica.

He shared his considerations on Marine Research in Nigeria, Dead Coral Reefs found on Lagos waters, Seabed Resources and Exploration openings, Ocean Energy, the need to create labor that address marine issues, plastics in fish and so forth. It is very uncovering. Peruse on!

About the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research

The wellspring of life is in the sea, and that the sea covers over 175% of the outside of the earth. The association of the sea, land and air shape our atmosphere. Along these lines, the sea is imperative to life and without it, we can’t endure. Furthermore, that is the reason our Institute is focal.

Here at Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), we are in charge of all oceanographic inquire about in Nigeria. We are about the biggest in West Africa and in Africa; I think we are only alongside South Africa.

There are different parts of oceanography and we have broken them into different offices. There’s the branch of Marine Geology Geophysics, Physical and Chemical Oceanography, Biological Oceanography, Fisheries Resources, Fishing Technology, Biotechnology, Aquaculture and Mariculture.

We have done as such much as far as preparing, inquire about, recognizing fish species that are productive, Mariculture and shrimp culture. We are chipping away at how to culture shrimps in the research center for residential and worldwide utilization. We have gone to the degree of getting a spot in Yovoyan, close Badagry for a Mariculture venture where ocean water will be utilized to breed shrimps.

Angling riggings are additionally structured and worked here. We have an extremely enormous research center which was given to us by the Japanese government. It’s the just one in West Africa. We have likewise show research center where you can test your net and check whether it is performing great in water. Our angling nets have the turtle select gadget. Without that gadget, no one purchases your shrimps at the International market.

We likewise study the natural reaction of living beings to various situations, how they can be controlled to support marine life, how some of them biofoul the earth and cause issues.

NIOMR is associated with Marine Biology. We do studies that distinguish the sort of fish we have, the wealth of such fish, their environment, and the pace of development. We recognize nursery grounds and study mangrove zones. It’s exceptionally expansive. We additionally study microorganisms that are perilous to types of fish, the way they increase and the reason for their development in the ocean. We take a gander at physicochemical parameters like the temperature, saltiness, gravity, sea sharpness, oxygen/carbon dioxide in the ocean.

I head Marine Geology Geophysics and we are in charge of taking a gander at the geography and physical qualities of our regional waters and the ocean past which incorporates the bathymetry, the profundity, the ebb and flow, and shoreline disintegration. We additionally screen ocean level ascent utilizing tide measures. We have information to demonstrate that in this piece of the world, the ocean is really rising. We likewise show what rate it is ascending at and take a gander at the dregs in the sea whether surface or center silt.

Dead Coral Reefs in Lagos Waters

Our marine condition dislike this 500, 000, 000 years back. It has been aggravated by human exercises particularly close to the shore. Previously, we had living corals reefs seaward Lagos. They were in Lagos waters in the Holocene, which is around 100,000 years prior however they kicked the bucket.

As of late, dead coral reefs were discovered shooting out of the water in seaward Lagos towards Ondo State coastline and anglers should be mindful so as not to trawl there on the grounds that they will lose their nets on the off chance that they do.

Dead corals reefs are as solid as rocks. They are hard strong carbonates. On the off chance that you get a coral, you will require uncommon gear to chip away at it.

Their passing was brought about by beach front disintegration, siltation and particles that hindered their organs. Coral reefs just make due in clean waters. You realize that whenever you go to the shoreline; sand is lost. What’s more, if it’s a territory where the tidal water contacts, it likewise removes sand.

The British in 1912 developed the crotches in order to counteract siltation of channels into Lagos ocean ports. That is the East and West Mole. They secure the channel (into Commodore channel, into the ocean port) from sand coming right from Côte d’Ivoire and different streams into the sea. The West Mole obstructs the sand yet here in Lagos, it causes a great deal of disintegration on the grounds that there is no sand balance along the coast. At the point when the wave is solid, it grabs sand. It is this sand goes seaward to sediment up coral reefs and in that procedure they pass on.

Any movement in the sea affects marine life forms. There’s nothing you take from or to the sea that does not have an effect. Government needs to consistently think about the degree of the effect of exercises on the ocean. Those exercises ought to be controlled with the goal that whatever is taken from the sea is supportable. We are right now taking hydrocarbon from the Niger Delta; we should know the ecological effect as well.

Nigeria is an individual from the International Seabed Authority. I’m additionally a Commissioner there and I can reveal to you that there are numerous assets simply resting there at the seabed unharnessed. We have a thought of what those assets are a result of investigation done by certain nations before.

The Seabed past 200 nautical miles or the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of any nation is represented by the Law of the Sea, and the International Seabed Association oversees and controls the assets found superficially and under the seabed past national purviews. That region is known as the Common Heritage of Mankind. The International Seabed Authority manages exercises in the Common Heritage of Mankind.

The mineral assets that have been found in the seabed incorporate Polymetallic Manganese Nodules, Polymetallic Sulfide, and Ferromanganese Crusts.

Polymetallic Manganese Nodules is a gathering of iron manganese coming about because of all exercises from the land found in the ocean and from certain minerals from rocks. They meet up and structure the knobs on the seabed. Manganese is utilized in making separators, medication, manures and so forth. It additionally contains iron, zinc and sulfide.

The Polymetallic Sulfide is found in the Mid Oceanic Ridges. Practically all seas have the Mid Oceanic Ridges and there is one close us here in Nigeria; the South Atlantic Mid Oceanic Ridge. It has a great deal of Sulfides which are extremely wealthy in gold, silver and precious stones. They are great metals while the Ferromanganese Crusts are exceptionally mineralized hulls.

The test is that they are somewhere down in the ocean, so we need the innovation to bring them out. Just State gatherings to the Law of the Sea show are able to offer for investigation. States that don’t have the account are permitted to collaborate with organizations built up for Marine Exploration. All they need do is apply and arrive permit through the International Sea bed Authority. Permit must be given to the State for the benefit of the organization. The contractual workers are typically regulated and are permitted to investigate for a long time after which they are allowed consent to mine and carry the minerals to the surface.

The time of investigation encourages temporary workers to find the minerals, evaluate it, know whether it is productive, and to survey what effect the mining action will have on the earth. They have to guarantee that their exercises won’t decimate the environment of the zone, and crash living life forms. Wellbeing is significant on the grounds that despite the fact that those exercises go past the 200 nautical miles, if care isn’t taken, it can, later on, sway on the neighboring nations. The contractual workers for the most part present a report on their exercises each year.

At this moment, there are more than 15 temporary workers previously investigating. China has three licenses. Japan has three licenses as well. UK, France, Singapore, Brazil, India, and creating countries like Kiribati Island, Tonga and a lot more are as of now investigating.

Nigeria’s Manpower Capacity for Seabed Mining

Somewhat, we have mastery in the region of research however we need sea life scholars that will discuss the effect of the mining exercises on fisheries and other marine assets. We have sea life researchers like Geophysicists, Geologists that can do exploratory work taking a gander at the ebb and flow, profundity and all other physical parameters.

We are additionally ailing in the region of building. You know about marine architects yet take a gander at our shore lines, in the event that you need to develop disintegration hindrances and anything in the marine territory; it is either Julius Berger or other remote organizations. We don’t have indigenous marine designing organizations. This is on the grounds that it is capital serious. On the off chance that you put a vessel on the ocean only for five days, you will spend more than 10million naira. Our vessel here can take four trailer heaps of diesel so you can envision. It can even go on investigation however we will require innovative hardware.

There’s have to build up a University that can offer degree courses in Oceanography since everything we do now in this nation is Land Geology. It is just when you come here that you can consider Marine Geology. There is no foundation that produces graduates in Physical Oceanography. No organization can flaunt Chemical Oceanography! They need to go to ocean to do every one of those things yet they don’t have vessels. They don’t have vessels for their tidal pond thinks about. Not very many possess vessels, a considerable lot of them employ from anglers.

We have to realize what’s going on in our marine condition. When we do, we can control it, screen f