Landing fish catch assessment of artisanal fishing in the polluted river nun, Amassoma Axises, Bayelsa state

Abstract

The catch Composition of artisanal fishery in River Nun, Amasoma Axis was conducted from September, 2017-February, 2018 using catch assessment survey. This was done in order to gauge the effect of human induced pollution on catch composition of the heavily polluted River Nun at Amasoma Axises and its implication on food security. The catch compositions of all fishers along the River were sampled monthly for six (6) consecutive months. The numbers and type of fish caught were identified to their species level using standard identification keys. They were counted and the numbers recorded for each species. The types of fishing gear employed by fishers were also recorded. Results reveal that 72 fish species from 24 families were identified from 385 individual fish. 11 fish gear types were employed with the gill net being the most predominantly used gear. The cichlidae (Tilapia spp) were the most dominant in terms of number of abundance (7.79%), followed by the Synodontis resupinatus (3.11%), Synodontis robbianus (2.85%), the mormyridae and mochokidae were the family with highest number of species in the river. Artisanal fishers used gill nets, cast nets, basket traps, drum traps, hook and line etc. as fishing gears as their fish gear. Based on the observation from this study, it can be concluded that although the fish catch compares with other Rivers in the Niger Delta, Amasoma River is moderately impacted by its pollution status but has great potentials for fisheries exploitation if properly managed and utilized.