DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF FISHING IN TAGWAI DAM RESERVOIR, NIGER STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Fishing is an important livelihood for communities around Taggwai Dam Reservoir; hence, adequate data is required for the proper management and conservation considerations. This study utilised randomised data from 15 fishers for socio-economic assessments. The study discovered that the Tagwai Dam fishery consisted of all-male fishers, fishing full-time (53%), married (87%), and in the age brackets— 21 - 50 (60%), and 46 and 50 years (40%). Three in four completed primary education, and roughly six in seven attended Quranic schools. All fishers had active involvement in Fadama Cooperative. Gears (gillnets, cast nets, and Malian traps) in Tagwai Dam Reservoir (TDR) mainly were rented (80%) or owned (20%). Each crew owned a craft and a blend of gears (mesh sizes: 0.5-1.5in). The fisheries consisted of Cichlidae (68.21%), Alestidae (21.79%), Claroteidae (10.24), and Clariidae (0.15). The predominantly Cichlidae catches were neither preserved nor processed on-site. Per fisher monthly average catches include June 118.47kg, July 112.27kg, and Aug. 94.62kg), Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE)—June 0.51kg/boat/day, July 0.50kg/boat/day, and Aug. 0.41kg/boat/day, and Benefit-Cost Ratio (BCR)—June 4.57, July 3.65 and August 3.62 declined progressively along the months. TDR represents a typical small-scale fishery systematically "fishing down the food web" for profits at the expense of fisheries regulatory ethics