A Study On The Fish Fauna Of Urie Creek At Igbide, Niger Delta

Abstract

The fish fauna of Urie Creek at Igbide in Delta State, Nigeria, was studied from January to December, 2006. Sampling was carried out both day and night during high and low tide using different fishing gears. A total of 2,050 specimens were sampled made up of 45 fish species in 32 genera and 24 families. Variation in the mesh sizes of gear used greatly influenced fish catch in the creek. Cast net recorded the highest number of fish catch (44.05%) and fish species (36 species). Two chichlid species, Tilapia zilli and Hemichromis fasciatus were the most abundant in the catch, amounting to 10.34 and 10.83% respectively. The families, Cichlidae and Clariidae were the most dominant families constituting 38.39% and 10.34% of the total catch respectively. Fish abundance showed high catches during the dry season (67.85%), low tides (63.8%) and day time (68.2%).

Keywords: Fish fauna, fish abundance, Urie Creek

The Zoologist Vol. 6 2008: pp. 69-80