Diversity and abundance of fish species in river Okpokwu, Benue state, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was carried out to investigate the fish species diversity and abundance in River Okpokwu, Benue State at three stations. The species found include Heterobranchus longifilis, Clarias gariepinus, Oreochromis niloticus, Tilapia zilli, Protoptrus annectens, Synodontis budgetti, Labeo coubie, Alestes baremose, Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus, Mormyrops rume and Malapterirus electricus. The most abundant species found in both dry and rainy season was C. gariepinus (17.00%) followed T. zilli (13.90%) while M. electricus was the least abundant (4.73%). In conclusion, field observation showed that all the eleven species of fish in River Okpokwu had a seasonal trend in abundance. Therefore, there is a need for the conservation and management of the fisheries resources of River Okpokwu by relevant agencies.