SMALL SCALE SHRIMP FISHERIES
IN NIGERIA
Report of a field based
investigation conducted by the conservation program of Center for
Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD) with support from The World
Conservation Union (IUCN), The Netherlands.
February, 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Introduction…………………………………………………………………..1
Project Objectives……………………………………………………………2
Study Area……………………………………………………………………2
Pre-Project Training…………………………………………………………3
Project Methodology…………………………………………………………3
Local Shrimp Centres………………………………………………………..3
Shrimp Catch Composition…………………………………………………..4
Kinds of Gear………………………………………………………………….5
Catch Variations………………………………………………………………6
Percentage Shrimp Fishers…………………………………………………...7
Gender Participation………………………………………………………….7
Bycatch…………………………………………………………………………7
Socio-economics……………………………………………………………….9
Industrial Shrimp Fisheries………………………………………………….10
Bycatch Trade…………………………………………………………………10
Artisanal-Industrial Conflict.………………………………………………...12
Workshop………………………………………………………………………13
Recommendations…………………………………………………………….14
References…………………………………………………………………….15
INTRODUCTION
Shrimp*
is one of the leading highly priced sea foods on the global menu. The extensive
continental shelf, especially the organic rich muddy sediments of the Niger
Delta support good shrimp production in Nigeria. An estimated 12,000 metric
tons (MT) of wild caught shrimp is produced annually in Nigeria, most
of which is processed and exported to the developed world. It is pertinent to
stress here that shrimp aquaculture, at least for commercial production, is
presently non-existent in Nigeria but it is being contemplated by mostly oil
companies operating in the Niger Delta.
Shrimp
fisheries could be classified into two: Industrial or large scale shrimp
fisheries and small scale shrimp fisheries. The former being highly organized
and the major source of shrimp export enjoys keen attention. The latter
however, involves numerous rural persons operating motorized and non-motorized
boats to catch shrimp in creeks and rivers of littoral communities. Most of the
shrimps caught in the small scale sector are consumed internally. For this
reason, scarcely any comprehensive documentation exists on the status of
artisanal shrimp fisheries in Nigeria
and how it contributes to livelihoods in the local communities. Secondly,
available literatures on small scale shrimp fisheries are in published
scientific articles and therefore, confined to academic circles-not accessible
to policy makers.
To
fill part of the information gap, The World Conservation Union (IUCN) based in Amsterdam, The
Netherlands funded the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development
(CEHRD), under her Nature and poverty programme (Small Wetland Grant) to survey
artisanal shrimp fisheries in the Niger Delta and other neighbouring coastal
states in Southern Nigeria. This is the report
of CEHRD findings. It covers local shrimp fisheries, aspects of industrial
shrimp fisheries and bycatch trade-an offshoot of the huge bycatch arising from
the multispecies stocks of Nigeria’s
tropical waters.
_______________________________________________________________
*Shrimp used herein also refers to prawn. The term is loosely used.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The project specific
objectives were;
(1)
Build the
capacity of CEHRD conservation programme in the Subject area
(2)
Investigate the
present status of small-scale shrimp fishery in the Niger Delta in terms of
percentage fishers and also investigate status quo of industrial shrimp fishing
(3)
To organize
workshop involving local fishers, industrial shrimp companies, lawmakers, on
the need for sustainability in shrimp fisheries to maintain sustainable
livelihood.
STUDY AREA
The
study covered five states. Three states that make up the geographical Niger
Delta and two other states in the neighbourhood of the delta. The states are
Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta-Niger Delta, Akwa Ibom and Cross River.
Nigeria is a maritime state with a coastline of 853km and
lies between 4o 10’ to 6o20’N and longitude 2o
45’ to 8o 5’ E (Ibe, 1998). The Nigerian coastline stretches from
the Western border with the Republic
of Benin to the eastern
border with the Cameroon
Republic. Nigeria’s
maritime area is 46, 500km2 between 0-20m depths and its Economic
Exclusive zone (EEZ) is 210, 900km2 (world Resources, 1990).
The
Niger Delta basin covers all the land between latitude 4o15’N and 5o
35N and longitude 5o 26’E and 7o 37’E with a total area
of 20,000km2 (Yakubu et.al, 1998). The Niger Delta is the most
important drainage feature of the Niger Benue river system. It covers about 2%
of the surface area of Nigeria.
The Atlantic Ocean coastline is interrupted by
a series of estuaries which forms the Niger
Delta swamp in the middle where the lower Niger River
drains the waters of Rivers Niger
and Benue into the ocean.
The
Nigerian Continental shelf is narrow in the west and ranges in width from
28-33km. The width increase to 63km off cape Formoso
at the nose of the Niger Delta, increasing eastwards to about 75km off Calabar.
According to Amadi (1990), some of the coastal characteristics which are of
importance to the Nigerian inshore demersal fisheries are the presence of
thirty-six estuaries and the prominent Niger Delta which provides suitable
habitat for the penaeid shrimps, finfish and other living marine resources.
PRE-PROJECT TRAINING.
In
order to build the capacity of CEHRD’S conservation programme in the subject
matter, the project team leader was trained for 4 days in Senegal. The
training took place in four different institutions in Dakar, namely;
1)
World wildlife
Fund (WWF)
2)
Senegal Institute
of Agricultural Research
3)
National Park and
wildlife (coastal management office).
4)
National
oceanography data centre, Senegal.
In
the four centres above, the project head interacted with shrimp experts on key
areas related to the project at hand. These included biology of penaeid shrimp;
migration pattern, environmental impact of shrimp aquaculture; biological data
collection technique, resource conflicts, project conception, design,
execution, evaluation and monitoring.
PROJECT METHODOLOGY
Data
were collected in the field using direct sampling method- sampling catches of
local fisherfolks randomly selected at landing sites, and through conducting
structured and unstructured interviews. Catch composition, catch rate (weight)
and bycatch-shrimp ratio were determined in the field by direct assessment using
identification manuals (Powell, 1982, Schneider, 1990). Questionnaire and
direct interrogation were conducted on local shrimp fisherfolks and bycatch
traders to elicit relevant information on the sector. Other sources of data
which we relied on include professional conference proceeding, published and
unpublished articles, books and personal communication with fisheries experts.
Information gathered from respondents and retrieved questionnaire were analyzed
using the relative percentage method.
LOCAL SHRIMP CENTRES
At
least, considerable shrimping activities take place in every littoral community
in the Niger Delta and its coastal neighbourhoods. However, selected fishing
settlements are designated shrimp centres based on their location, size and
number of fishers involved in shrimp fishery vis-a-vis other forms of
fisheries, and the volume of catches and marketing activities going on. A
priori the local shrimp centres earlier identified were selected based on their
accessibility and contribution to local economies.
They
are as follows:
1) Rivers
State
a) Oyorokoto
b) Kenwigbara
c) Ajaramonie
2) Bayelsa State
a) Zarama
b) Ogboinbiri
3) Akwa Ibom
State
a) James town
(Ibaka)
b) Mbe Ndoro
4) Delta
State
a) Burutu
b) Bomadi
5) Cross
River State
a) Itu
b) Nsidong beach
(Calabar).
SHRIMP CATCH COMPOSITION.
Shrimp
catch composition in the artisanal sector depends greatly on the area where the
shrimping takes place. The estuarine prawn, Nematopaleamon
hastatus dominate artisanal catches from coastal waters and in
estuaries, together with Penaeus notialis.
Local shrimping crew of between 3-4 persons/boat using motorized and
non-motorized dugout or plank-built canoes usually harvests this species in
large quantities. Estuarine prawns, usually less than 65mm in length, are sold
dried and locally referred to as ‘crayfish’. Dried Nematopaleamon may be cooked whole, but is mostly grind and used as
condiment in local dishes. In estuaries too, Penaeus notialis, P. kerathurus and Parapenaeopsis
atlantica are the major representatives in small-scale catches.
In freshwater rivers and creeks, Macrobranchium fishery predominates. M. felicinum (Niger
River prawn), M.
vollenhovenii (African River Prawn) and M.
macrobranchion (Brackish
River prawn) dominate the
catches of this sector.
Other
species that can be ranked as important in the small-scale shrimp sector in the
sense that they are harvested for selling include, Desmocaris trispinosa, (Guinea
Swamp shrimp) Palaemon maculatus (Zaire Prawn) and Palaemonetes africanus (Creek Shrimp).
According to Powell (1982), what are referred to as crayfish in West
African English are really shrimps. True crayfish (Decapoda Reptantia) do not
occur in mainland tropical Africa, except for
introduced populations in East Africa.
Some
shrimp species such as Leander
tenuicornis (Biocellate prawn), Palaemon
elagans (Rockpool prawn), etc do occur incidentally in local catches, which
according to Powell (1982), are never intentionally fished for. On the
contrary, the industrial shrimp sector in Nigeria is centred on the marine
penaeid shrimp, P. notiatis harvested
offshore by trawlers. P. notialis
fishery is declining and its population since 2000 is substantially
supplemented by an exotic species Penaeus
monodon.
KINDS OF GEAR
Variable
gear and fishing methods are employed by local shrimp fisherfolks in the
studied area. There tended to be a sort of uniformity in gear design and
application in all the fishing communities. A plausible explanation for the
similarity in gear is that migrant fisherfolks travel to new settlements with
their harvesting tools. And the residents often copy fishing with the
introduced gear. On the other hand, migrant fishers also learn existing fishing
methods in their new settlement. For these reasons local crafts and fishing
methods are devised, selected and adapted by the fishers based on efficiency
hence, the uniformity in gears and fishing methods observed in the area.
In
creek shrimp fisheries, stake or grass woven traps of different dimension,
scoop net and drag net are commonplace. Fishing with these gears take place in
unmotorised boats, which involves manual rowing with paddles. Single fisherman
and woman operate in a boat with hand scooping net while shrimping along mud
flats and chicoco edges of creek channels and creeklets. One fisher may
conveniently employ traps and baskets usually engaged in macrobranchuim
fishery. Traps with single and multiple compartments are also used in the
sector. Dragnet or hand seine requires two operators, each holding the wooden
pole (handle) as the net is drag along in river channel (plate 44). Shrimp and
other catchable stocks bigger than the net mesh size is retain in the net bag
as water fitters through.
Local
shrimping in coastal waters involves the use of uniform trap net designed in
semblance of trawl net. The net is passive in nature. The stationary net bears
different name amongst the various fishing communities. For instance in Rivers
state, local fishers nicknamed the trap net “Nkoto”. At Mbe Ndoro however, the
net is called “Esik”. This is a conical bag net of nylon material with a
rectangular opening (plate 15). The mouth of the net is about 2.5m wide and
about 2m high; the net is about 7-7.5m long. Stretched mesh size varies from
7mm at the cod-end to about 2.8cm near the mouth. According to one of the local
fishermen at Ajaramonie, preparation of the Nkoto involves cooking the
different net mesh sizes in a big pot with the bark of red mangrove tree (Rhizophora racemosa). Parboiling with
mangrove bark changes the whitish colour of the newly bought
net
to dark brown-depicting old coloration. This colour changes, the fishers claim,
protects the net from the destructive tendencies of crabs and puffer fish fond
of eating the net fabrics.
Fishing
with the conical bag net (Nkoto or Esik) is carried out in dug-out canoes.
These vary in length from 8m to 10m, for the non-motorized and motorized boat
respectively (Enin et.al, 1991). The former is propelled by paddles and sails,
while the latter uses outboard engines ranging from 8 to 55 horse power (HP).
The number of fishermen per canoe varies from 2-3 and scarcely 4 to 5 crew
onboard. The number of nets per canoe varies from 20-25, sometimes as many as
40 nets per boat. Usually, the nets are fixed facing tidal currents with an
anchor attached to a converging quadruple rope tied to the four edges of the
net mouth. Fixed net being submerged is located by the presence of a surface
floater connected to the bottom anchor. Hauling of the nets is done 4hours post
fixing.
N. hastatus dominate the catches of the conical bag net,
constituting over 80% of the catch composition.
CATCH VARIATIONS
For
coastal shrimping, catch varies according to season. Catch rates peak in the
rainy season. Out of the total number of fishermen interviewed who engage in
coastal shrimping using conical bag net, 60% reported good catches in the rainy
season. Forty percent (40%) of the respondents said their catches are better in
the dry season instead. The rainy season catches peak in August-October. The
case was different for local fisherfolks who operate in the creeks and swamps
in terms of seasonality in shrimp catch rates. While 50% of the respondents
said their peak period of catch is the rainy season, 50% mentioned dry season.
CEHRD researchers did not verify the divergent and inconsistent claims. The
primary reason being that field sampling took place in the rainy months of
August-October. Lack of dry season catch data deliverable from the field
hinders our comparative analysis. However, Enin et al (1991) studied N. hastatus fishery in the outer
estuarine region of Cross River, Nigeria and reported that catch rates rose to
a major peak between March and June i.e. end of dry season and early rainy
season. They also reported a secondary peak in October/November-transitional
period between rainy and dry season. According to their findings (Enin et.al,
1991), the poorest catch rates obtained in the middle rainy months of July to
September. Nwosu and Holzlohner (2004) studied Lunar and seasonal variations in
the catches of macrobranchium fishery
in the Cross River Estuary and reported two maxima in May – July and
November-December.
PERCENTAGE SHRIMP FISHERS.
No
fishing settlements visited in the course of this study were homogenously
shrimping communities or entirely specialized fishery centres. The fisherfolks
were an admixture with regard to their fishery specialty. The relative percent
of shrimp fishers vis a-vis other fisheries undertaken ranged from 16.7% to
67%. There was also an observed trend of more shrimp fisherfolks in coastal
settlements than in centres located on creek banks and swamplands.
GENDER PATICIPATION
Both
males and females take part in small scale shrimp fishing. Womenfolks dominate
swamp and creek fisheries. Operating singly in paddle propelled canoes, women
harvest shrimp in the wild using woven traps and baskets. Interestingly, in
Zarama community in Bayelsa state, shrimping in the creek waters is more or
less a preserve of women with scarcely any man taking part in the fishery. The
women fisherfolks specialize in harvesting macrobranchium
and P. notialis in the creeks.
Referring to the juvenile component of their catch as crayfish and adult stocks
as lobsters, the Zarama fisherwomen revealed to CEHRD researchers that bycatch
incidence is absolutely zero for small funnel-entrance traps set to capture
juvenile prawns. But CEHRD is yet to verify this claim. On the other hand, only
men engage in coastal shrimping which employs fixed bag net due to strong wave
actions. Shrimping in major rivers and their adjoining creeks is done by both
fishermen and women, oftentimes, dominated by the female folks. An illustration
of this fact is the relative number of women to men from Pupugbene community in
Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State. Sixty percent of the local
shrimpers are women with only forty percent male fishers. These fisherfolks
operate along the lower reaches of river Forcados.
BYCATCH
The
incidental capture of non-target fish species and other organisms during
shrimping is not completely absent in the small scale sector, but very minimal.
CEHRD researchers numerically measured between 2% to 6% bycatch rates during
field investigation. The composition of bycatch observed ranged from
jellyfishes to finfish and occasionally gastropod molluscs. Bycatch composition
and ranking in coastal shrimp fisheries are as follows.
(a)
Croakers Pseudotolithus elongates, P. senegalensis and P. typus (dominant)
(b)
Puffer fish Ephiphion guttifer (very abundant)
(c)
Hairtail Trichurus lepturus (dominant)
(d)
Swimming crab Callinectis sp (abundant)
(e)
Short spine
African anglerfish Lophius vaillant
(Common)
(f)
Atlantic bumper Chloroscombrus chrysurus (rare)
Other
incidental fishes that occur occasionally in catches are:
Drepane africana
Pomadasys jubelini (sompat
grunt)
Galeodes
decadactylus (lesser African thread
fin)
|
Sphoeroides pachygaster
Lagocephalus lagocephalus
Compositions
of bycatch observed in creek catches include:
(a)
Goboides ansorgei (gobid)
(b)
Eleotris daganensis (gobid)
(c)
Pachymelania aurata (periwnikle)
(d)
Tympanotonus fuscatus (periwnikle)
Presence
of the gastropod molluscs (periwnkle) as bycatch may be surprising since
periwinkle distribution is limited to the intertidal region where it is flooded
and exposed intermittently. But the underlying reason is that pushnet (plate
44) used by the fisherfolks (women) is often dragged along the edges of
low-water marks. Operation of the gear extends to intertidal area as flood
waters creeps upward for inundation.
Bycatch
composition may vary with regard to their relative number. But certain species
such as the croakers and hairtail (Trichurus
lepturus) are consistently prominent bycatches. Local fishermen in Mbe
Ndoro, Akwa Ibom state reported that the capture or mere sight of hairtail fish
at the fishing ground indicates huge shrimp population and good catch. This
observation by the local fisherfolks confirms the report of Pauly and Neal
(1985). They asserted that hairtails generally co-occur with shrimp and have
been included among fishes said to be shrimp indicators.
Artisanal
bycatch fish are consumed by the fisherfolks themselves and their households or
by the households of fish mongers. Finfishes and crabs above 10cm and 7cm
respectively are selectively removed at sea by the crew for their own use.
Bycatches below the above lengths are left unsorted from the bulk of shrimp.
Leftover bycatch is further sorted out at landing site by the buyers, part of
which is retained for consumption while the less useful juvenile individuals
are discarded on the sandy beach (Plate18). Jettisoned bycatch attracts a lot
of flies that invade the site, having been attracted by the stench of the
rottuning carcasses. But before long, tidal flooding covers the discards, which
are often carried to the sea by ebb tide. CEHRD pointed to the fishmongers the
health
implications of their unsanitary behaviour-discading unused bycatch in the same
environment where their marketing activities take place.
Generally, sea turtle is hardly caught in the
fixed bag net except moribund individuals, unable to swim out.
SOCIO-ECONOMICS
Apart
from the fisherfolks themselves, a lot of the local people benefit from shrimp
fishery. And this sector has sustained rural economies for ages.
Shrimping
in creeks and rivers by a single fisher/boat is undertaken between 5-6 days in
a week. Low catch ranges from half to two basins per day. High catch rates
hover between 3 and 4 basins/day. This gives a minimum average catch rate of
1.25 basin/day and an average maxima, 3.5 basin/day. A basin of shrimp or prawn
is sold between N1500-N3000 (average =N2250). This means that local shrimp
fishers operating in the creeks and rivers make between N2, 813 and N7, 875 per
day. As noted earlier, coastal shrimping for N. hastatus involves 3-4-
crew/boat using unmotorised and motorized boats respectively. Their catches
range from 1-12 basins (baskets/day (average catch =6.5 baskets).
Sales
price in this sector is equivalent to those of the inland fishery. Thus, each
“Nkoto” shrimp boat sells an average of fourteen thousand six hundred and
twenty five naira (N14, 625) daily.
To
get the Catch Per Unit Effort (CPUE), we have to divide catch in basins/no. of
fishermen/boat. Using the average catch rates (6.5 basins/boat), CPUE becomes
2.2 basins/fisherman/boat for a 3-man crew and 1.6 basin/person/boat for a 4-man crew.
Ideally,
it is expected that each Nkoto net operator would earn between N3600
–N4950/day. However, motorized boat requires fueling and sharing of income is
practically based on ones role in the boat and also ownership. The owner of the
business takes the lion share followed by the senior operator on board down the
hierarchy.
Landing
and purchase of shrimp by mongers or mammies is more organized in the coastal
set up. Buyers assemble at localized site in about 30 minutes before landing.
Assemblage of the mongers is synchronized with tide. CEHRD’S researchers
observed that the boats do not touch ground when the buyers will wade through
the swashing waters to carry basket-load of shrimp (plates 7, 8, 16, and 20).
Carriage is mostly done by two persons. On arriving the shore, the mongers
evacuate the shrimp unto the sandy beach. This occurs in steady stream until
the catch is completed evacuated from the boats. Sorting of bycatch for
consumption and discards follow suite. The shrimp is usually processed by
drying with firewood underneath kitchen kiln. Other buyers come to buy the
shrimp in dried form and sell in markets within the area and in the hinterland.
INDUSTRIAL SHRIMP FISHERIES
Currently
a total of one hundred and seventy three trawlers are licensed to trawl for
shrimp in Nigeria.
Licensing by the Federal Department of Fisheries is based on specifications of
the Sea Fisheries decree 71 of 1992 (now Sea Fisheries Act). Presently, (as at
November 2006) 140 of the licensed vessels are still functional while 13
vessels are no longer in operation.
Only
the other hand, only 22 licensed vessels are trawling for fish (finfish) in Nigeria. These
vessels are owned by 19 companies which are joint-ventures. All are grouped
within a “Nigerian Trawler Owners Association (NITOA).” Atlantic shrimpers
Limited (ASL) owns Seventy seven (77) of the 173 shrimp vessels. This means ASL
owns 44.5% of the shrimp fleets. Next in ranking to ASL is ORC fishing and food
processing limited, having 14 vessels (10 functional and 4 non-functional)
followed by Jophil fisheries Nigeria limited, Seagold fisheries Nigeria
limited, Harvest fisheries limited and Olokun Pisces Nigeria limited with 10,
10, 9, and 8 vessels respectively. The remaining 43 fleets belong to thirteen
other companies.
BYCATCH TRADE
The
Sea fisheries Decree No. 71 of 1992 requires that all shrimp trawl codend
should not exceed 44mm mesh size. The law also recommends that the ratio of
fish: prawns should be maintained at 75:25. In practice this is never
maintained and more fish (as high as 90% fish), relative to prawns are caught.
The
huge bycatch rate has resulted in the evolution of a thriving trade in
byproducts. About 100,000 tons of bycatch fish are produced annually from the
industrial sector. This is about 25% of the total annual fish produced in
Nigeria which is estimated at 400,000 MT. Bycatch thus, supports an estimated
12 billion Naira industriy in the coastal states in Nigeria. At sea, shrimp
trawlers freeze the valuable catch-referred to as the cruise targets. Excess of
cruise target and fish bycatch is traded at sea through a system where
motorized artisanal canoes buy the fish and transport it to shore where it is
processed and marketed. Bycatch trading at sea is illegal in the context of the
sea fisheries regulations. The latter stipulates thus “all fish caught by a
motor fishing boat within Nigeria’s territorial waters or its exclusive
economic zone shall be landed at a Nigerian port”, and that “it shall be an
offence to catch, land, retain, sell, expose or offer for sale or be in
possession for the purpose of sale of seafish of any description being fish of
smaller size than such size as may be prescribed in relation to sea fish of
that description.
CEHRD’S
investigation via interaction with the bycatch traders reveals that the trade
in byproduct was borne out of food shortage. The trade started when trawler
crew exhausted their food stuff while shrimping and had to approach artisanal
fisherfolks for mutual bargaining. That is, exchanging bycatch fish for food.
Beyond this starvation driven encounter, a broader and sustained negotiation
ensued between trawler operators and artisanal fisherfolks and ushered in the
present era of selling the byproducts for money. Bycatch sales intensified when
target shrimp (P. notialis) catch
rates dropped and cruise targets were rarely attained within specified
shrimping duration. In other words, as trawlers spend longer days on sea to catch
cruise targets of management, more money is expended on fueling the boat and
for feeding of the crew. For instance, before now fleets spend a maximum of two
weeks on sea and return to base. The fishery has dwindled so much so that
vessels spend up to 45 days fishing. The above ugly scenario midwives a
situation whereby management of companies subscribes to on- the- sea sales of
byproducts to augment costs.
The
bycatch transaction began at a time when some local fisherfolks had had
diminished interest in fishing because of catch reduction. The new offer of
buying and selling of bycatch fishes requires less time and minimal energy
expense vis-à-vis the high energy dependent and unpredictable catches that
characterize their conventional fishing. So, the trade in byproduct was
heartily embraced by some seemingly frustrated fisherfolks who were so swift in
mobilizing themselves into marketing unions.
To
reduce the number of beneficiaries, bycatch trade associations formulated
discouraging entry requirements to forestall the number of would-be members.
Today the leadership of bycatch traders’ unions has succeeded in penetrating
the management of the shrimp companies and secured official approval of the
business.
The
dominant families representing bycatch fish are clupeidae (mostly illisha africana, the West African
illisha), Pomadasyidae (threadfins especially polydactylus quidrifilis). Others include members of the
Ophichthidae, Soleadae, rajidae, mobulidae. Members of the family Ophichthidae
dominate bycatch of trawlers operating in deep oceanic waters.
______________________________________________________________
In Nigeria,
bycatch is called “Yamayama”, which in local parlance means wasteful products.
Only certified traders are allowed access to the trawlers on sea. They buy in
turns. Yamayama (bycatch) is an admixture of both shrimp and small fishes.
Bycatch
fish are usually iced onboard vessels. More ice blocks are also given to the
traders to sustain fish quality-prevent fish spoilage-during transportation
from offshore to landing (marketing) sites. Once landed, bycatch is sold to
fish mongers who sort them (bycatch) into categories, followed by smoking.
Bycatch is also sold fresh in coastal markets. Indeed a lot of people in
coastal communities eke out a living from bycatch trade. It is also a major
source of income for trawler crew and provides unsustainable remedy to animal
protein in- security of local people. The negative side of this practice is
that shrimp trawlers now aim to catch as much incidental fish as possible, more
often, in shallow waters where the multitude of species congregate. More over,
trawlers opt for unauthorized mesh size to catch more bycatch and make more
money.
Apart
from destabilizing ecologically sensitive and biodiversity shallow waters,
trawling to catch huge bycatch will further pauperize, on a larger scale, rural
communities whose livelihood depends on fishing. Demersal fish stocks will
dwindle inshore, leading to absolute collapse of the fishery.
When
CEHRD researchers asked if the byproducts marketers would be willing to abandon
the business if eventually government disbands it, the general response was
negative. “The life of my family depends on this trade. If it stops, how will
my
family and I survive; what about my children’s schooling; who bears the
burden?”, one of the traders roars to CEHRD investigators. However, significant
number of the byproduct dealers indicated their willingness to revert to
artisanal fishing should the trade in bycatch is disbanded. One condition is
attached to this submission: provision of subsidized fishing gear and basic
social amenities like portable water which are totally lacking in the fishing
settlements.
ARTISANAL-INDUSTRIAL CONFLICT
Generally,
majority of the rural fisherfolks in Nigeria do not know the limit to
which they can operate. Fisheries laws and policies exist on paper, oftentimes,
without the knowledge of the illiterate fishers. Our field investigation
reveals that 90% of the rural people involved in small scale shrimp fishing had
no taste of western education. Eight percent (8%) of the fisherfolks had
primary education while just a menial two percent of those interviewed are
graduates of secondary school. Consequently, local fisherfolks do not have any
knowledge of 5- nautical
______________________________________________________________
In Nigeria,
bycatch is called “Yamayama”, which in local parlance means wasteful products.
Only certified traders are allowed access to the trawlers on sea. They buy in
turns. Yamayama (bycatch) is an admixture of both shrimp and small fishes.
miles
as their fishing limit. Rather local fishermen operating along the coast are
naturally impeded from fishing beyond the above limit by turbulent waves. With
the desire to catch many incidental fish to sell and make more money, trawler
captains trawl within the 5 nautical miles meant for the artisanals. In the
process, the latter fishing gears are destroyed. Other hazards associated with
illegal shrimping in the non-trawling zone include ramming of boats,
destruction of fishing grounds by trawling, etc.
The
presence of local fishers (whether using motorized or unmotorrized boats) and
trawlers on the same fishing ground erupts in conflicts between the both
parties which may turn out to be violent. Local shrimp fisherfolks from
Oyorokoto, Rivers
State told CEHRD
investigators that they have succeeded in sending away two fleets off the mouth
of Andoni River. The crew were predominantly
Chinese. Other attempts to send boats having many Nigerians onboard resulted in
gunshots at the artisanals, reported one of those interviewed. From our
independent findings, trawler operators hiding under the cover of pirate and
militant disturbances in the Niger Delta, hire state security apparatus on
board vessels. Security operatives and crew enter into dubious agreements which
foster trawling in disapprove territories such as the month of estuaries. Presence of the security operatives coupled
with the weapons in their possession instills fear into would-be local
agitators for the fishing rights of the artisanals.
On
the other hand trawl captains alledged
that artisanals tended to approach areas where trawl vessels congregate.
Perhaps, due to the impression that such spots support good catch. Though CEHRD
have not verified the veracity of the above claim, it is also apparently
convenient to argue that the non-sophistry of gear and boat, which characterize
the artisanal sector technically confines their operations to the coastal
edges.
WORKSHOP
A
two-day stakeholders’ workshop was also organized by CEHRD. The workshop had
“shrimp catch data transparency and bycatch reduction” as its theme. Those who
participated in the forum include government officials, representation of the
Nigeria Trawler Owners Association (NTOA), artisanal fishermen and women who
engaged in shrimp fisheries, members of the academia, and the press. Artisanal
fisherfolks who took part in the workshop deliberations were drawn from shrimp
centers earlier visited in the five coastal states covered by this project. We were gender sensitive in selecting
fisher attendees of the workshop.
The
workshop was declared open by the Hon. Commissioner for Agriculture in Rivers
state ably represented by the Director of fisheries in the state ministry of
Agriculture.
Thereafter,
a keynote address was presented by CEHRD’S head of conservation (see annex 1).
The opening session was followed by technical sessions during which papers (see
annexes 2, 3) on core areas were presented by two shrimp experts. Debates,
discussions, dialogue, experience sharing etc, characterized the workshop
proceedings. At the end, a communiqué was signed and issued by the
participants. The communiqué was made available to the media and accordingly
published in some dailies (see Newspaper clips attached).
RECOMMENDATIONS
In
our view, training local fisherfolks on pertinent areas like fishing
boundaries, the need to abandon destructive fishing practices, the usefulness
of allowing researchers and officials from the federal and state department of
fisheries to assess their landed stocks, etc, is a good basis for follow-up
activities. CEHRD also recommend that discard fish should be utilized in the
production of fish meal instead of being thrown over board or abandoned on
shore lines as observed in Plate 18.
REFERENCES
1) Amadi,
A.A. (1991). The Coastal and Marine Environment of Nigeria a – Aspects of
Ecology and Management. NIOMR Technical
paper No. 76
2) Enin,
U.I; U. Lawenbery and T. Kunzel (1991). The Nematopalaemon
hastatus
(estuarine prawn) fishery in the outer estuarine region of the Cross River
Nigeria.
Arch. Fischwiss. 41 (1) 67-88
3) Ibe, C.
(ed.) (1998). Coastal profile of Nigeria.
UNIDO/UNDP-GEF. 74P.
4) Nwosu,
F.M. and S. Holzlohmer (2004). Lunar and Seasonal variations in the catches of Macrobranchion
fishery of the Cross River
Estuary, S.E. Nigeria. Indian hydrobiology, 7(1&2),177-181
5) Pauly,
D. and Neal R. 1985. Shrimp vs. fish in Southeast Asian fisheries: The biological, technological and social problems.
In YANEZ-ARANUBIA, A. (ed.):
Recursis Pesqueros potenciaels de Mecico.
La Pesca Acompanande del Cameron. Progr. Univ. de Atumentos, inst. Cienc. Del Mary Limnol, Inst. Nal. de Pesca. UNAM, Mexico D.F. PP 487-510.
6) Powell,
C.B. (1982). Fresh and brackish water Shrimps of Econimic importance in the Niger Delta. In
proceedings of the 2nd Annual conference
of the fisheries society of Nigeria
held at Calabar, 24-27- January 1982
7) Schneider,
W. (1990). Field Guide to the commercial
Marine Resources of the Gulf of Guinea,
FAO, Rome.
8) Yakubu,
A. F; Sikoki, F.D. and Horsfall, Jr. M. (1998). An investigation into the physicochemical conditions and planktonic
organisms of the lower Reaches of
the Nun River, Nigeria. J Appl. Sc. Environ. Mgt. Vol. 1, No. 1, 38-42.
