Fisheries innovative data collection strategy: The case of self sampling in artisanal fisheries of Bonny, Nigeria

Abstract

Fisheries data collection by self sampling strategy in an artisanal fishery in the Niger Delta area (Bonny) was examined. Forty (40) fishermen from eight (8) fishing communities were trained on sampling and recording of their catch. The fishermen continuously self sampled their catch for a total of 269 days. Fifty-four (54) fish species including commercially important fish species in the Nigerian Fisheries Sector were recorded from all the communities by the fishermen. Data collected provided baseline information on Bonny area fisheries, which gave salient performance indicators of the fisheries such as the catch per unit effort (CPUE), species size ranges and frequency of exploitation of fishing grounds. The data also revealed the most abundant sizes of various commercially important species. The total number of continuous self sampling days was approximately 7 times more than that spent by fishery personnel thus indicating the inherent advantage in self sampling, which is the opportunity for more sampling and invariably more data. The cost-effective requirement of data collection strategy was achieved by the fishermen self sampling their catch thereby reducing fisheries personnel cost. The importance of this innovative strategy for developing countries such as Nigeria was discussed.

Keywords: Artisanal Fisheries; Data Collection Strategy; Innovative; Self-Sampling