INTRODUCTION TO FISHERIES

Fish and Fisheries are integral part of most societies and make important contributions to economic and social health and well-being in many countries and areas. It has been estimated that approximately 12.5 million people are employed in fisheries related activities, and in recent years global production from capture fisheries has tended to vary between approximately 85 and 90 million tones. Variety of ways, ranging from subsistence to international trade as highly sought-after and highly-valued items. The value of fish traded internationally is approximately $40 billion per year.

Despite this enormous importance and value, the worlds fish resources are suffering the combined effects of heavy exploitation and in some cases, environmental degradation. The FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization) in 2000 estimated that 47% of the 441 stocks for which some information on status was available were fully exploited, 15% over exploited, 9% depleted and 1% recovering.

Fishing is one of mans most ancient food gathering endeavors and may be defined as the exertion of those activities aimed at catching 'fish' using appropriate tools. The term FISH is used here loosely not only the fin fish (which are piokilothermic aquatic vertebrates that breathe by means of gills and move by means of fins) but also other aquatic vertebrates such as crocodiles and sea turtles (which are reptiles) whales, tortoises, dolphins, and seals (which are mammals) as well as some aquatic invertebrates , notably shrimps, crabs, and lobsters (which are crustaceans) and oysters, clams, winkles, and fish (which are mollusks)

However, approximately 91% of the worlds output of food from the aquatic environment consists of fin fish, hence when the word, FISHING is mentioned, what comes to our minds is the hunting for and / or catching of this group of fish. Yet the other products, especially the crustaceans and mollusks also contribute a significant portion to the worlds fish food production.

DEFINITION
The term fishery is frequently used interchangeably by many authors. We consider the term fisheries under three basic contexts...,

i. Part or type of water body where fishing is carried out. For instance, an inshore fishery and a lake fishery refer to the
fishing and related activities carried out in the inshore waters of the oceans and in a lake respectively.

ii. Fishing in which definite types of gear or crafts or catching methods are applied with some regularity (e.g, a gill-net fishery denotes fishing in which the gill net is the principal gear in use; canoe, while fishing method in use is trawler).

iii. fishing in which a particular specie or a group of species of fish are selectively exploited with some regularity, e.g sardinella fishery implies that the fishing is directed principally towards the catching of a species of sardinella in the given area. Similarly, we can talk of tuna fishery, bonga fishery, oysters fishery etc.

Worthy of note however, is that there is no clear line of demarcation between one type of fishery and another. Thus, a canoe fishery may employ gill nets or hook and line as gear and so could also be called gill-net fishery or a hook and line fishery. Usually, the meaning or coverage of the word is clear from the context. Whatever meaning is intended, fishery includes the handling, preservation, processing, distribution and marketing of the product

The term fisheries are used to denote a number of different types of fisheries viewed together in a given area. Thus, when we talk of *marine fisheries, we are considering all the methods and processes involved in getting the fish from the sea to the consumer, the different types of crafts used, the various types of gear and fishing methods and facilities, distribution and marketing of the various products. Some of the meaning and usage of the word fisheries are listed below:
✤Marine fisheries
✤Inland fisheries
✤Artisanal fisheries
✤Industrial fisheries
✤Rivers fisheries and
✤Lake fisheries
Others may include gill-net, trap, beach, seine, trawl, purse, mid-water fisheries

VALUE OF FISH

FISH are of high economic importance. Their uses may be summarized as follows::
➜Fish is used primarily as human food (particularly fin fish). Abundant calorie value is obtained especially if the fin fish is fatty, containing fat soluble vitamins, considerable amount of combine phosphorus and other elements necessary for the maintenance of a healthy body. It is however the protein content of the fish that is commonly emphasized.
➜Parts of the fish are used for various purposes which includes:
●the skin of some cartilaginous fishes (chondrichthys) are useful for making leather and polishing materials
●the scales of some fishes yield a substance than when coated on the inside of glass beads makes artificial pearls
●the lining of the air bladder of sturgeons is used to make isinglass (a shinny powder used in the manufacture of soap)
●Fish oils,besides being used as food are used in the manufactre of soap.
➜Whole fish, especially clupeids, anchory, capelin and other species not readily acceptable for direct consuption, are converted into fish meal for the manufacture of animal feeds..

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In my next article, i will enlighten us about THE HABITAT OF FISHERIES

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