Using satellite imageries for the survey of aquatic vegetation and other resources

(5 page document

Water hyacinth cover and hydrological pattern of Kainji Lake

(8 page document

Climate change and the challenges of fisheries resources management in Nigeria

This paper takes a practical look at the challenges faced by fisheries resources in Nigeria due to climate change. It shows that Chad which produce 60% of smoked fish in Nigeria worth N2.6 billion is at the brink of extinction and is expected to dry to a mere 2000 sq km by year 2010 from over 25,000sq km in the 1960s. In simple clear terms, the paper gives practical adaptation and policy to face the challenges of climate change

Study of the solar dried and traditional sun-dried fish products

Drying of freshly caught fish to heat from sunlight is the simplest method of fish preservation in the arid regions of the tropics, where heat energy from sunlight is of considerable intensity, the Kainji Solar Tent Dryer was developed to improve the traditional drying methods Bagrus bajad was used in this study as a result of its dominance in the Jebba and Kainji Lake Basin. The fish were dried in the Kainji Solar Tent Dryer and open sun and dying was completed within 2-4 days. Results from organoleptic study show that dried fish products in the Kainji Solar Tent Dryer were light, whitish-yellow colour, while the sun dried fish was dark orange in colour. Solar dried fish had mean score of 8.2 for appearance while sun dried fish had 5.2, sun dried fish had 6.6 for texture while solar dried fish had 7.8. For odor and taste solar dried fish had mean score of 8.2 and 8.4 while sun dried fish had 4.6 and 0. Moisture content was 10.6 for solar dried fish compared to 22.26 for sun dried fish. Crude protein and fat were 62.3 and 16.25 for sun dried fish compared to 82.14 and 8.46 for solar dried fish. Solar dried fish had 43.3cfu/gm compared to 132 cfu/gm for sun dried fish in the microbiological load assessment. Organoleptic assessment of the final dried product showed that the solar-dried fish were of better fish quality than traditional sun-dried fish

The impact of meteorological parameters on fish weight loss in the Kainji Solar Tent Dryer

Metrological parameters and their impacts on weight loss of fish inside Kainji Solar Tent Dryer were experimentally investigated. Drying experiments were conducted in solar dryer across the five agro ecological zones of Nigeria. During the drying experiments, the parameters such as temperature, relative humidity were lowest. The study showed that meteorological parameters were the primary determinants for fish drying within the Kainji Solar Tent Dryer, since weight loss during the experiment followed the pattern of these parameter

Fish safety and quality: sources of contamination and hygiene indicators in fresh and processed fish

The knowledge of sources and routes of fish contamination is a very important aspect in maintaining the quality of safety of fish. This is paramount because the sources constitute the acess through which most unwanted microorganisms may be transmitted onto fish and fishery products. Unwanted microorganisms may be found in the final product through raw material, personal handling or mobile equipment such as forklifts, through leakage and openings in building, or through pests. Some pathogens may even become established in the processing equipment and rough contact surfaces such as fish retail tables and from niches where they can survive for long periods of time. Many of these microorganisms occur naturally in aquatic and general environments, and may be transmitted onto fish before capture, during and after processing. Also, contamination via air can occur through dust particles or via aerosols. Water is also a vehicle for transmission of many agents of diseases. Thus, the quality of the raw material, personnel hygiene, equipment used for processing, the quality of the water used and pests are key issues in this context. As for quality assurance, methods such as the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Good Hygiene Practice (GHP) and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) are recommended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for use by any food processing establishment to ensure safe, wholesome and nutritious food for human consumptio

Use of screened fish retail table to improve the hygiene of fish sold in local markets

Screened retail table was designed to improve the hygiene of fish sold in our local markets. Investigation was carried out on the microbiological population on Tilapia fish. Overall value obtained from plate counts show that fish were more infested outside the table. The sensory values are 4, 13, and 6 for on-sport open table and screened respectively, also microbial load range between 7x10-5 to 88 x 10-5 cfu/g for open table where 3x 10-10 - 33 x 10-10 for screened table. This shows that fresh fish on open retail table in our markets were prone to deterioration

Prolonging freshness of tilapia Oreochromis niloticus by evaporative cooling system (ECS)

The principle of Evaporative Cooling System (ECS) was adopted to construct a Wooden Evaporative Coolant Structure (WECS) to prolong the freshness of Tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. The keeping quality of the two structures was compared with fish kept at ambient using temperature, relative humidity, weight loss and organoleptic indices. Results showed that the Basket ESC and Wooden ECS recorded lower temperatures and higher relative humidity values as compared with the ambient. Tilapia stored at ambient condition recorded significantly higher weight loss (P>0.05) than those kept in BECS and WECS. Results of sensory evaluation showed that there was a gradual reduction in the organoleptic quality of the fish stored in BECS and WECS. Quality of whole fish by panelist after 8 hours of storage showed that the two ECS models recorded significantly higher (P<0.05) freshness scores than fish stored at ambient temperature. Fishmongers should adopt this technology (BECS and WECS) as a means of prolonging the freshness of Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus before they are sold to consumers

Current trends of fish processing in Jabi Lake area

A survey of the fish processing practices of the fishing settlement around Jabi lake area in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was conducted. The main purpose of constructing the reservoir is to serve as the main source of water supply to the FCT, fishing and fish processing became prominent. Fishermen are recording very low fish catch and the level of hygiene in fish handling practices is very low. The processors are majorly involved in smoking and frying which is dominated by 79% of middle aged young men whereas, 21% are women. The scale of fish processing in Jabi Lake area is still at the subsistence level. Furthermore, the processors do not package the processed fish products, rather they gather them in baskets and plastic bowls. FCT resideents usually procurelive and smoked fish from Kado fish market