Fishing is one of the major economic activities and livelihood among communities. This marketing is attracting people on daily basis due to numerous benefits attached to it. This research examines the challenges affecting the artisans in the fishing business at Geidam local government area, Yobe state. Questionnaires were distributed to 100 artisans in the fishing business at the study area, 76 men and 24 women. Simple percentage was used to analyze the data collected from the respondents. Findings revealed that the major challenges affecting the artisans include: thefts, road accident, tree storms, lack of modern storage facilities, and lack of capital. Government should therefore support the artisans in terms of modern storage facilities such as cold room at subsidized rate, also, deploy professional fishery officers to help and improve sustainable fishing practice in the study area. The officers could educate the fishermen about hygienic and effective practices, give training on issue of illicit use of gears, and educate the communities about the nutritional benefits on fish products.

The acute and sub-lethal bioassay of aqueous extract of fresh pawpaw (Carica papaya) leaf on Clarias gariepinus fingerlings was investigated. The experiment was carried out at Department of Fisheries Teaching and Research Fish Farm, Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola. At 96h static bioassay, symptoms of toxicity in the fish indicated that aqueous extract of fresh pawpaw leaf caused sub-acute effects such as altering fish behavior. These behaviors include air gulping, erratic swimming, discoloration, loss of reflex and skin peeling. These behavioral alterations were time and concentration dependent. Exposure to aqueous extract of fresh pawpaw leaf caused decrease in packed cells volume (PCV), haemoglobin (Hb), and red blood cell (RBC), mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) and an increase in the mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular volume (MCV). It resulted in marked increase in white blood cells (WBC). Mortalities and LC50-96h values for Clarias gariepinus exposed to fresh pawpaw leaf extract was (10.9 ml/l). The mortality rates in extracts to Clarias gariepinus in sub-lethal exposure was lower than in acute concentrations. The growth rates were significantly reduced in fish exposed to sub-lethal concentrations of the fresh pawpaw leaf extract compared to the control fish (p<0.05).