Following an outline of the various fishing systems in Nigeria, considering both the marine and freshwater environment, details are provided of those around which viable sustainable fisheries may be develope

Fadayomi, N.O.

English

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By
N. O. 72.@JP-FDFID7±.
FISESCO, Lagos, Nigeria
Because of the raiiono.le underpinins the choice of-
to this symposium, ft have deliberotely lekr out fishinE, systen.,L On..; nrr",n,110-.1)
exploitatiori at subsistence level_ These include: a' nglin97,, ,rapping, flaffri, cost
The focus ofthis paper, therefore, is on fishing sysenis, wound whicb
hod developed For the avoida.nce o,f'doubt, r.he worle
implications. In like manner, viability could be substituted for por
The major consideration in fishing technology is the cornmunity behaviours of the target
fish species such as feeding habits, spawning habits, response to external stimuli such as
temperature, hydrospheric pressure, light, salinity and electricity.
Over centuries, man has come to terms with these variables and has developed contrivances
to exploit the fish resources. _ epencling on the levels of tolerance ofthe hydrospheric pressure
ola given fish species fish stocks position themselves at different levels within the ecosystem,
Some fish communities have preference for the benthic region, some have preference for the
rnid-water region, some have preference for the pelagic region and, in some lakes and the
estuary, sorne prefer the littoral regions. With this understanding fishing systems had been
developed to exploit these resources at these locations.
The existing Fishing Systems
For fish comrnunities inhabiting the benthic region, the follOWing fishing systems have been
developed viz. Otter trawling (this could be operated over the stern, side or the out-riggers),
beam trawling, scottish/Danish seining (which in soine parts ofthe world is referred to as Wing
trawling)
In certain waters, where the substratum is muddy shell fish. (such as crustaceans) embed,
iron chains referred to as tickler-chains are giffed on trawls for better catchability., Tickling
of prawns and shrimps out of the substratum become such r Hportant factor of the fishing
exervises to extent that alternating current is used in some coieeil.:a'ies along with tickler ,;;ylin
to electrically shock the animals out of the mud and be caught by .i.ne approaching fiehing gear.
At the littoral region, beach-seining is adopted This system is corriroonly used in q-,kes,
marine envrionmeíut and flood ponds This is labour intensive and without mechanisation the
beach-seine, which may be constructed like a wing trawl is pulled on the beach at either side
afthe vvings by able-bodied men. The catch., u sing this system, could be appreciable, depending
on the season of the year.
The fisl 'rag, systems afore- entioned apply mostly to the exploitation of fish resources of
mine environrnent. In lakes, rivers and the estuary, the most popular fishing systems are
ailing and trapping. gill-netting, a passive fishing system, is equally popular in the marine
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as in fact the systea. by artisanal 'fisheime who
9-izi.) .) Production.
ve..-geta:fion, ;oohs ane other ÒbSt (; CijOYAS in swamps and some
s.fsh is be.Li,-.1; throUgh the use of electaic
moiCsA iierao-h-,,nysiological centre located close to the vagus nerve.
TL Srif of fish to electric field in water brings about catheletrotrotonic or anelectronic
contili,i:ns that bring fish unconsciously towards higher potentials of the electric field, at the
centre ofwl ch is the anode ofthe assemble which serves as the fish collector. Further exposure
.to the electric field brings about tetanie effect which leads to narcosis. The electric pulse
recormended is similar to the .systolic and diastolic current pattern of the heart
effect is diTsrers't from that produced by alternating current or P.C. generators. For,
hile the thriller allows the fish to recover normalcy the latter electrocutes the fish immediately
and, as such has come under 50.11CtiOri in developed countries.
One fiShing sub-system that is effective in any aquatic environment, but serving as
complement of other major fishing systems is light fishing. The major components of this
assembly are light bulbs of very high watta.ge which help in the attraction or concentration of
fish, particularly pelagic fish stocks. In this case, the main fishing system could be purse-seining
Of gill-netting-.
Foa fish communities inhabiting the mid-water, the following fishing systems have been
developed, viz: mid-water trawling and long-lining. The mid-water trawling could be done
by a pair of boats, the relative positions and to-wing speed of which collectively determine the
depth of operation of the trawl, as well as the horizontal opening of the trawl, the trawling
system could be done over the stern of a single vessel, using hydrodynamic otterboards referred
to as subercrube doors. Because this fishing system is aimed at shoals offish, the catchability
of this gear is enchanced by the use of "Kites" on the upper pannel of the square of the trawl,
which increases the vertical opening of the gear much more than can be attained through the
conventional fioat/sinker arrangement.
On the other hand, the long-lining system uses the hook assembly aimed at fair-sized shoals
of fish that can be caught individually by individual hooks. These hooks may be baited with
live-fish preferred by the target fish; they may be baited with mimetic fish and they may not
be baited at all. This fishing system is effective for fish inhabiting the cold water region below
the thermocline, about 200 inetres deep.
For fish communities inhabiting the surf ace of the ecosystem i.e. pelagic fish species, the
following fishing systems have been developed, viz: mid-water trawling, purse-seining and
pole-lining. The rnost effective of these systenrs is the purse-seining and it is the most expensive
and 'sophisticated . The sophistication lies in the substitution of natural fish finding
inta:ators by aircraft 'which is appurtenant to the purse-seiner, and in the Advanced utilization
,of posiehle echo-sounders for locating shoals of fish at close range. Tinportantly, the
effecah.a.eness of the purse-seining syste lies in the ability of the pUrse-seine gear to reach at
Aran/cane as weil as surface waters, where such th Final str tification occurs
kri
¡tier trawlirtg, its effectiveness in the exploitation of the surfa.ce
lies in te ability of vessels to Taise and lower tHe trawl by increaSing or
t' e speed of tow.
As for the polz-lining, i is wry effeeive for shoaling fishE7,3',Dve e t-.3rri-i!oefera D. T:11.1S
iabOUT-iiTieriSiVC.: a:ad, i .s depehciew, oel Cale avallabiEl-y o'ai-ie--3a-17.1i3.
anchovy.
Fish pumps ° )Les laced with electric wire. 7' twork omple,.77
purse-s c °.a.: 3 whose target fish na- -..cur in nui . cth
group ineludes, _ L ot limited to, Traci/Bungs spp and Scomber sr i is appuLl :e is to
expedite storage, assure high quality product and prevent a surge of the fish shoa ___at could
affect the stability of the fishing vessel.
FISHING SYSTEMS THAT A TIE VIABLE IN NIGERIA
Viability of fis'..-4ng systems in Nigtria shol,rd i)e discussed in the context of the -fish
resources and the different ecological zer.es.
Because ofhe filature ofille bottom ofLakes, Rivers and the Estuary, Gill-netiing has been
found to be ost eifective This system has been perfected by the local canoe fishermen over
the years. Mthough the returns on investment by small fishermen groups remain low, the large
numbers of fishe. en engageci in this fishing system account for the seemingly apprecrable fish
landings at the various ecological zones. Attempts have been made to introduce the trawling
system (particularly mid-water trawling) at the major lakes such as Lake Chad and Kainji Lake,
but all these efforts have yielded insignificant results in as far as economically important fish
species are concerned. Nevertheless, catchability could be enchanced if the area fished is
expanded by increased investment in fishing gear and by complementing the gear with light
attraction, particularly for semi-pelagic species.
In the marine environment Gil-netting is viable. At areas of the continental shelf that are
close to shore, canoe fishermen adopt bottomset gill nets to exploit dernersal stocks. At deep
areas down to 100 metres mid-water-set gill-nets are used for off-bottom or semi-pelagic
species. The latter has proved most profitable because of the large schools of pelagic species
such as Bonga encountered at mid-water and at the surface. In this fishery, VI onga remains
the major catch, although what is caught through gill-netting because of the passive nature of
the fishing operation. Since the last one year, commercial exploitation of°wk.:, resiturces is
being undertaken with the use ofsmall purse-seiners by ,:ussian Vessels. Appreciable quantity
of fresh-frozen Bonga is king landed at Lagos Fishertes Terminal with the re: . -1 new
fresh Bonga market has developed. Given the potential of this resoureT,s, more purse-seining
activities should be encouraged. Mid-water trawling for Bonga is equa4 effective, !althoggh
the system is yet to be adopted in Nigeria.
As regards de'l ersal fish stock, bottom trawli g has been found most effective with proven
economic viability. Different modes such as stern trawling, side trawilirqg and double-riased
trawling had been adopted, although most '''shing enterpï *ses are ROW sticking to double-
rigged trawling because of the wider L'E s area covered b_ 3wed
eously, and because of the mixed fi --rtrnunities benthH, r- TS
co hental shelf
Began trawling is viable fsr dernriersal fishi g as Vidll. This system is paraicularly effective,
in: !uddy bottom in nd around the river mouths where fiat fish species a,nd c isiaceans embed,
be:--ise the gear mouth digs deep enough to push them out into open waters and into the bag
:t. This system is yet to be adopted in Nigerian waters.
239
sea down lo the orlef.m such as the tunas andiina-
i1P.55 ;d3rap:2,id frniIies, thc.-. ow:se-seining system is the, 17103'T.
"/L111317.-;.e i. IS' the poic-linini systern. Thefe two systems have been adopte.-i
J1_1 :',(;e201Viiy3_:,";1611.:31 In principle, ine syz;i113
FOf un fish spe,cies such as the big-eye, (_Thvns obesvs) that inhabit de-p
d15 ocean, although a survey of this resource IS yet to be made to determine
:113 pf,)v,,:?,aliI21.eese alynost O 3% to 0.23% of ours s-SeIfle and poh.=,-line caches comprise, the
ig je, it i5 sup-nised'.4.,hat more of them could have been landed if one used a gear such as
reocn 9i. thedn F?, iheir deco locations
"R.). CO3,S0- of their propensity to be attracted to light, light gear assernblies can
conrocco,7-.:n p)o3a and long-linin7, systems for higher fish production from these areas
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Fishing systems: viability in Nigeria

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