Research was carried out to explore the fish species diversity and study some aspects of the Biology of fish of Daberam reservoir, Katsina state, for a period of three month from March to May 2009. 66 Samples of fish were collected from commercial fishermen and experimental fishing gears, preserved in formalin and taken to laboratory for identification. Seven genera comprising eleven species were identified. The regression coefficient (b) were 3.07, 2.91 and 3.21 for the three most commercially importance species in the reservoir i.e. Oreochromis niloticus, Tilapia zilli and Clarias gariepinus respectively, the results indicated Positive allometric growth for O. niloticus and C. gariepinus and negative allometric growth for T. zilli. The mean condition factor (k) was 1.140, with values of 1.027, 1.660, and 0.732 for O. niloticus, T. zilli and C. gariepinus respectively. This result indicates that the fish are not leaving well compared to other freshwater fishes.

This study examined the socioeconomic characteristics, role of women and expenditure pattern as it relates to seasonal variation in lagoon and marine fishing communities in Lagos State. A two stage stratified sampling method was used to select the sample size of 210 fishing (35 female and 175 male-headed) households from 25 lagoon and 10 marine fishing communities. Data were collected through field observation and administration of structured questionnaire at household level. Analytical technique used was descriptive statistics. Results indicate that though women do not fish in the high sea, female-headed households from among the Ilajes are actively involved in fishing in the lagoon waters. The study reveals that wives and daughters of fishermen are actively involved in fish processing, preservation and sales of fish caught as well as farming. Mean per Adult Equivalent Household Expenditure (MPAEHE) ranged from N350.74 for the first decile to N 3, 928.30 for the tenth decile. Percentage of the total expenditure spent on food decreased from 90.8% for the first decile to 41.9% in the tenth deciles. Other crucial roles of women in ensuring food security despite the seasonal variation are highlighted. The need to ensure food security should follow a multi-dimensional approach in order to achieve considerable improvement in the living standards of the poor fisher-folks.

Fish found in natural tropical and sub-tropical water system experience frequent growth fluctuations. The study was conducted to determine the length-weight relationship and condition factor of Clariid species (Clarias gariepinus, Heterobranchus longifilis and Synodontis clarias) in Kano state of Nigeria. About 177 fish samples were collected from six rivers (Thomas, Ghari, Tiga, Duddurun-Gaya, Karaye and Bagwai) across the length and breadth of Kano state. Body weight (BW=248.48g), total length (TL=32.74cm) and standard length (SL=26.16cm) were determined. The length-weight relationship and condition factors were also determined. The condition factors showed varying degree of well-being of fish sampled from their habitat, and ranged from K = 0.37 to 0.89. The equation for the lengthweight relationship for the three strains is: C. gariepinus = -329.86+17.56TL, H. longifilis = -241.49+14.28TL and C. clarias = -428.51+22.72TL. Body weight and length had positive and significant relationship (r = 0.73 TL; r = 0.75 SL).

The study was to evaluate the effects of different processing methods on the proximate and anti-nutritional contents of Mucuna pruriens leaf meal. The Mucuna pruriens leaves were collected and processed by Air-dried Mucuna Leaf Meal (AMLM), Soaked Mucuna Leaf Meal in Cold Water (CMLM), Soaked Mucuna Leaf Meal in Hot Water (HMLM) and Fermented Mucuna Leaf Meal (FMLM). Proximate analysis showed that FMLM had the highest value (25.94±0.94%), while the lowest recorded in the CMLM (23.00±0.00%). The analysis of antinutritional factors showed that hydrocyanic acid, oxalate, phytate, saponin, reduced significantly (P<0.05) after processing the Mucuna Leaf Meal.

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