PORT HARCOURT, September 30, 2026 —
A 4.5-kilogramme African jack fish caught on September 29, 2026, during a post-restoration fish stock assessment at Bomu Creek, Ogoniland, is providing an encouraging field-level signal of emerging aquatic ecosystem recovery following environmental restoration interventions by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).
The fish was caught during field operations at Bomu Creek as part of an assessment designed to monitor aquatic ecosystem recovery, fish abundance and fish production following shoreline remediation and mangrove restoration interventions in the area.
Following the field assessment, Prof. Nenibarini Zabbey, Project Coordinator, HYPREP, displayed the 4.5kg catch, while Community Stakeholder Prince Kabari OP-Agara, Akeeyor VII, Coordinator of the Pan Ogoni Professionals Network (POPNET), examined the fish with visible excitement and pride, describing its presence as an encouraging sign of the recovering biodiversity and renewed ecological potential of Ogoni’s once oil-degraded wetlands.
The assessment forms part of HYPREP’s continuing effort to scientifically monitor the response of restored aquatic ecosystems and determine the extent to which fish populations and other forms of biodiversity are returning following environmental restoration.
The current findings will be compared with baseline data collected before HYPREP’s shoreline cleanup and mangrove restoration interventions, providing a scientific basis for tracking ecological changes and measuring recovery over time.
The presence of fish in the restored creek provides a field-level indication of renewed aquatic productivity and emerging ecosystem recovery in an area that has experienced the impacts of decades of hydrocarbon pollution.
While a single fish catch cannot, by itself, establish that the ecosystem has fully recovered, its presence represents an encouraging ecological signal and reinforces the importance of continued scientific monitoring, restoration and protection of the rehabilitated environment.
The development is particularly significant against the backdrop of HYPREP’s broader restoration commitment to rebuilding the ecological health of Ogoniland in line with the recommendations of the 2011 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Assessment Report on Ogoniland.
Ten years after the establishment of HYPREP in 2016, the project’s restoration programme continues to bring together shoreline remediation, mangrove restoration, biodiversity recovery, livelihood restoration, community engagement and environmental monitoring as interconnected components of the long-term regeneration of Ogoniland.
The emerging return of aquatic life therefore represents more than a single fish catch. It offers a tangible reminder that nature can respond positively when damaged ecosystems are responsibly restored, scientifically monitored and protected from further pollution.
For the people of Ogoni, whose lives, livelihoods, culture and traditions have historically been closely connected to their rivers, creeks, wetlands and mangrove ecosystems, such signs of recovery carry both profound ecological and human significance.
HYPREP: 10 YEARS OF RESTORATION, RENEWED HOPE AND ECOLOGICAL RECOVERY
Release Date: September 30, 2026
For HYPREP updates and progress reports:
www.hyprep.gov.ng
