A survey of the artisanal fisheries of kontagora reservoir, Niger state, Nigeria

Abstract

A survey of the artisanal fisheries of Kontagora Reservoir was conducted between JanuaryDecember, 2007, using statistical frame survey and catch assessment survey. Five fish families made up seven fish species were recorded. The fish species Hemichromis fasciatus, a cichlid was the most dominant with mean value of 414.3 and 7715 in terms of number and weight respectively. Nineteen fishermen using gill nets, cast nets, hook and line sets, and Malian traps as fishing gears were recorded in the reservoir with a total mean catch of 4.40kg/canoe or 167 fishes/canoe. The reservoir was productive and comparable with other smaller but productive African lakes. The monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) system was suggested for management consideration, with emphasis on registration of fishermen and their fishing equipment, enforcement of minimum marsh size of 3" and establishment of community based cooperative scheme.

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“…The observed fish families from the Gillnet Catch in the Lower Taylor Creek concur with the work of [7,13,10] . The similarities of the findings of this study to [8] , could be attributed to the fact that the Upper Nun River and Taylor Creek are connected to each other, moreover, the River Ore reported by [10] in South West Nigeria and that of the Kontagora reservoir reported by [13] in Niger State are both connected to the river Niger to which the Taylor Creek flows into through the river Orashi in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. It is therefore not surprising that the fish families from this study tend to be similar with those identified in these earlier studies.…”

“…also reported that the choice of using a particular fishing gear is dependent on the fisher. Moreover, the findings also concur with the observations of [13] who noted that Gillnet, cast net, Hook and line, and Malian trap constitute the major fishing gears used by fishers, with the gillnet, cast net and Malian trap being locally produced by most fishers, and that the variations in the selection of fishing gears depends to a large extent on the size and type of fish fishers expect to catch. The demographic characteristics of the respondents corresponded with reports of [3,8,6] that the use of fishing gears in fisheries is practiced by fishers of both sexes but with a preponderance of males mostly between the economically active age of 30 to 39 years.…”

“…The study was carried out in Polaku and Koroama in the Lower Taylor Creek area, in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Niger Delta, Nigeria [13] . Noted that the Lower Taylor Creek is situated between latitude 5 0 01'N and 5 0 02' N and longitude 6 0 17'E and 6 0 18'E (Figure 1).…”

Assessment of Fish Landed by Artisanal Fishers in Imo River at Owerri-Nta, Abia State, Nigeria

“…Nine fish species belonging to seven families were identified in the fisher's catch on the river during the survey. The diversity of 9 families and 7 fish species in Imo River at Owerri-Nta in artisanal fisheries assessment are comparable with fish diversities in small reservoirs impounded across seasonal rivers, such as; 5 families and 7 species in kontaroga Reservoir, reported by Ibrahim et al (2009). Similarly, Onuoha et al (2010) recorded 26 fish species belonging to 7 families during the study of NtakInyang stream.…”

Estimating the determinants of poverty among artisanal fishing households in Edu and Moro local government areas of Kwara State, Nigeria

“…A good proportion of the Nigerian fishing households are subsistence small holder, relying heavily on the use of non-motorized canoes and fishing nets under a traditional system characterized by low technology, low capital investment and high labour intensive practices ( Ibrahim et al, 2009). Statistical surveys have shown that the demand for fish in Nigeria exceeds supply and also the domestic production is very low despite the abundant water resources and available man power.…”