Assessment of fishing gear and catch rate in Oguta Lake, south Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

This study was carried out in Oguta Lake, Imo State, Nigeria, from January, 2012 to December, 2013 at five stations (Onu Utu, Okposha, Ogbe Hausa, Osemotor and Ede Ngwugwu) to ascertain the percentage abundance and catch rate of gear and craft. The average weight of fish caught per canoe per day ranged between 3.2 kg for Basket and Drum traps to 47.1 kg for boat seine net. The gill nets ranged between 6.0 to 13.0kg per canoe per day with mean weight of 8.60±2.91kg, the cast net had values ranging from 1.0 to 7.0 kg with a mean weight of 4.3±2.49 kg. Lift net yielded an average of 3.4 kg per canoe per day. Gill nets were the main gear used by fishers, followed by long lines and cast nets at the lake. It is important to locate all the fishers operating in the lake and daily record of catches be collected for a more accurate picture of the total catch and fish species. Mesh size regulation prevent over exploitation of young fish, before they attain sexual maturity. It is recommended that the cost of procuring fishing inputs such as fishing gear and crafts and safety kits should be monitored by government and be subsidized for the fishers.Key words: drum trap, crafts, catch, exploitation, Oguta, mesh size, trap

Species diversity and catch per unit effort of fish in a perturbed tropical lake, Ibadan, Nigeria

“…Ipinmoroti [28] reported a lower Shannon-Weiner index of 0.67 in Asejire Lake suggesting resources in the lake are not as diversified as in the Eleyele Lake. A lower Shannon-Weiner index was also reported in Oguta Lake (0.0080-0.0224) and Bodna River (1.47) [35,36]. The dominance of Cichlidae in the lake agreed with previous studies in Nigerian lakes and reservoirs including Olaniran [34], Abiodun and Miller [37], Olopade and Rufai [38],…”

“…The species were either not susceptible to the gears used or may have been introduced later. Similarly, Adaka et al [35] recorded lower fish diversity in the Oguta Lake during their study period and attributed the change to be due to high fishing effort, human population explosion, and increased human activities. Temporal variation occurred in the species diversity being highest during the sampling period in 2019, and the higher the Shannon-Weiner index (H) the more diversified the resources [24].…”

“…and Ipinmoroti and Iyiola [39]. The preponderance of Cichlidae in the lake could be attributed to favorable factors including abundance of food resources, their prolific breeding capabilities, and strong adaptation to lacustrine conditions of the Lake [35].…”