Keywords
coastal villages
consumption
biodiversity
Abstract
The study was carried out between January and April 2009, in order to assess the fishes of Agorin and Yovoyan coastal water in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria. The fish samples from the coastal water bodies were sampled twice in a week from the fishermen’s catch. Data were also collected through the administration of structured questionnaires and personal interviews with fishermen. Twenty (20) fish species from 12 families with a total of 19,043 fish and (472.72kg) were recorded. The overall average weight/fish recorded at Yovoyan was 0.03 0.001kg while Agorin had 0.02 kg. The number of catches increased from January to April. Pseudotolithus elongatus was the most abundant species with 43.81% and 32.78% by number at Agorin and Yovoyan, respectively. The least abundant species at Agorin was Acanthurus monroviae (0.05% by number) while Albula vulpes was the least abundant species with 0.23% by number at Yovoyan. Though, Callinectes pallidus of length 4.75 0.06cm was the smallest fish size recorded from both water bodies, the species with the highest length was Arius gigas with a length of 122.5 1.02cm and121. 0 at Yovoyan and Agorin respectively. The length of the canoes used in the two villages ranged from 150cm to 1300cm. The most common canoes and gear used in the two villages are Ghana type canoe (1000cm) and boat seine respectively, while the less common canoe and gear respectively are dugout canoe and cast net. Fish smoking was the predominant fish preservation method while fresh fish were sold per kilogram at the landing site. Some of the hindrances against the performance of the fishermen in these villages were lack of funds, age barrier and unwillingness of the active youth to engage in fishing business due to a psychological effect of being addressed as a fisherman. There is an urgent need to monitor the water body in these villages as well as financial and material support to the fisher folks in order to enhance the improvement of market supply of fish to boost its consumption in the diet of Nigerians as well as conservation of these diverse fish species.
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