Effect of two fishing baits on catch composition of two traditional fishing traps in the upper Nun River, Niger Delta, Nigeria

The effect of two fishing baits on the catch composition of two traditional fishing traps were investigated between January and December, 2011 in the Upper Nun Rivers, Niger Delta. The traps were set at the littoral zone of the river, baited with Groundnut cake and fresh palm fruit. The Malian trap baited with Groundnut cake caught the highest number (31) of fish species with Species Diversity index of 1.00, while Ikara trap without bait caught the least number of fish species with Species Diversity Index of 0.32. The dominant species in the catches of the traps baited with Groundnut Cake were Synodontis sorex (15.45%), Synodontis clarias (10.57%), Clarias gariepinus (8.54%) and Hetcerobranchus bidorsalis (6.50%) in the small mesh sized Malian traps, while the large mesh sized Malian trap, synodontis sorex (9.05%), synodontis clarias (10.55%), Clarias gariepinus (6.03%) and Distichodus brevipinis (6.50%) were dominant. Mormyrus deliciosus was only caught in Malian trap. In both traps baited with fresh palm fruit, Heterobrancus bidorsalis, Clarias gariepinus, Oreochromis niloticus and Tilapia zilli dominated the catches. Traps not baited were dominated by Clariids. A significant difference was also observed in the weights of fish caught with different baits. The results from this study revealed that, groundnut cake is more efficient than fresh palm fruit as bait in catching freshwater fish

Status of fisheries law compliance in some fish landing sites in two local government areas of Rivers state, Nigeria

Illegal and overfishing are major threat to fisheries resource sustainability in Nigeria. The study determined social characteristics of fishers, level of awareness of the law and level of enforcement of fisheries law. A simple random sampling technique using 320 questionnaires was adopted to select the sampled population from four artisanal riverine communities along New Calabar River and Bonny Estuaries in Rivers State namely Station 1 (Nembe waterside), Station 2 (Mgbuosimini), Station 3 (Isaka-Bundu) and Station 4 (Borokiri-Rex-Lawson waterside). Respondents were identified through household listing. The level of education of fishers indicated that most of the sampled fishers were educated. From the respondents, only 1.56% was aware of the law. There was very high level of non-compliance to the 76 mm mesh size requirement; Nembe waterside, had 83.00%, Mgbuosimini had 76.00%, Isaka-Bundu had 80.00% and Borikiri Rex-Lawson Waterside had 85.00% mesh sizes less than 76 mm requirement. This indicated a violation of the mesh size requirement due to ignorance on the part of fishers and open access to the marine resources. Fishers agreed that the law should be reviewed. Therefore, the study recommends that there should be programmes to increase awareness of review of the provisions and enforcement of the law.Key Words: Factors, influencing, Fisheries Law, compliance, landing site

Growth and mortality of sleeper fish, Bostrychus africanus from upper new Calabar river, Rivers state, Nigeria

Bostrychus africanus samples were collected over a period of twenty months (January 2015 to August 2016) from the Upper New Calabar River. This was aimed at ascertaining the present state of the stock following increased exploitation Analyses were run using the FISAT package. Growth estimates by the Von Bertalanffy equation showed that mean length infinity was 19.69.±1.5795cm,, growth coefficient (parameter of curvature (K) was 1.37±0.9595cm/year,, tmax value obtained was 2.3±0.94295 years,. Recruitment analysis showed that the mean relative yield per recruit was 0.063±0.007 and biomass per recruit as 0.45±0.134. Exploitation rate was 0.395±0.088, while mortality estimates calculated by length converted catch curves and Pauly’s equation showed that total mortality was 4.01±2.84, natural mortality 2.25±1.21 and mean fishing mortality was 1.75±1.64. Exploitation was found to be inadequate, judging from the values of the natural and fishing mortalities. This was corroborated by the figures obtained for the prevailing exploitation rate.Key Words: Growth, mortality, population, recruitment, exploitation, sleeper fis