Fisheries Management
Definition
Manipulation of fish populations and their environment to increase
sport and commercial fish harvests.
All laws, policies, research and techniques with ultimate objective of;
Enhanced value of fisheries resource to the greatest number
of people over the longest period of time
Management of Inland water fisheries
To maintain equilibrium for maximum sustainable yield
(MSY).
The MSY over a very long period of term (preferably continuous) is the desire of
management.
To manage a fish population effectively, the fish biologists
must understand the dynamics of the fish population.
Biologists must be able to understand/cope with;
Adverse environmental factors
Disease and parasites
Competition
Pollution, drought oxygen depletion etc.
Management procedures for inland water fisheries are as
follows:
1. Improvement of habitat
Conducive
Carrying capacity: refers to the maximum biomass that can be sustained in a production
unit.
The ability of the production system (water body) to take in organic matter and metabolic
waste dictates its carrying capacity
Activities under habitat improvement include:
Provision of shelter cover
Weed control
Provision of artificial spawning sites
Fertilization of water body
Control of oxygen depletion
2. Restrictive laws: These are laws made to control the size and
species of fish caught and the season of capture.
Closed season during the breeding period of species
Approval of mesh sizes of fishing gears
Outlaw of certain fishing method/techniques (e.g seining, poisoning, use of dynamite,
spearing and use of multiple hook line)
3. Artificial reproduction
Production of seed in hatcheries and stocking
4. Introduction of exotic species
5. Natural and artificial selection of superior fish
6. Management of endangered species
Control or removal of predation, competition etc
ECOLOGY OF INLAND WATER
Ecology : Oikos (Place to live) and Logos (Study).
The interactions between organisms and their living (biotic) and non-
living (abiotic) environment.
Aquatic ecosystem (Fresh or brackish): This is a basic unit in
ecology formed by the collaboration of plants, animals,
microorganisms and environment, depending on each other to
maintain a life cycle.
Group of organisms and the habitat they occupy
The way the two are linked together to form a functioning unit.
The Lake ecosystem:
1. Littoral
2. Limnetic
3. Profundal zones.
Figure 1: Classification of a lake ecosystem
Nigerian Fishery sector
Offshore waters between 30 miles territorial limit and 300 miles EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone)
Coastal waters adjacent to the country’s 853 km coastline and a continental shelf varying between 2 and 12
miles off the coast from western to the eastern borders
River Niger delta
Inland waters associated with major rivers (Niger, Benue, Rima) and their tributaries and flood plains
Natural lakes and wetland
Reservoirs impounded for various reasons (Irrigation, water supply, hydroelectricity)
Purpose built ponds, mining paddocks etc.
