A checklist on the status of targeted fish species in selected communities of Ondo coastal waters, Nigeria

Abstract

The increased human activities resulting from industrialization and urbanization around the Ondo section of the coastal waters of the Atlantic Ocean have significantly affected the environment. To this end, the water quality, fish abundance and target status of fish species were identified, not-withstanding the influence of human activities on the water quality and its effects on fish abundance. Four fishing communities were purposively selected based on geographical location and accessibility along the coast; Ayetoro and Idi-Ogba communities on the eastern side and Eruna-Ero and Igbokoda on the western side. A total of 120 structured questionnaires were randomly administered using snowball technique at 30 per site. Erunna-Ero community measured the highest mean temperature, dissolved oxygen, salinity and conductivity with 29.39 0.30 oC, 4.48 0.06 mg/L,10.68 0.39ppt and 40.70 0.18 S/cmrespectively, while pH was highest in Idi-Ogba community (6.47 0.00). A total of 61.67% were within 21-40 age brackets; 69.17% were males, and 75% of the males engaged in fishing activities. Agricultural activities were high (97%) with most wastes emptying into the river (85.83%). A total of 27,622 fish individuals were identified across the fishing communities with Igbokoda having the highest abundance (38.13%) and Cynoglossus browni (75.18%) was the highest fish species. In the past, three (3) economically important fish species were of major target but a reduction to two (2) species was observed at the time of study which indicated a reduction in target fish species in Igbokoda community. An increase from three (3) to four (4) target species were observed in Ayetoro, Erunna-Ero, and Idi-ogba communities which indicated an increase in target fish species. The study showed the activities around the coastal water dictated the abundance of fish species and therefore essential to monitor the water quality parameters for the sustainability of fish species in the coastal water.