ASSESSMENT OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION IN EDO STATE

Department of Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Benin, Benin City.  okovica@yahoo.com or vicokonji@uinben.edu, GSM: 08056072837 The current status of aquaculture production in Edo state was investigated collected using well constructed questionnaire. The data was collected from 50% of registered fish farmers in the purposively selected eight Local government areas from the three agro ecological zones of Edo state, namely (Egor, Ikpobaokha,Oredo) for Edo south, (Etsako central, Etsako west, Owan east) for Edo North, (Esan South East, Esan North East) for Edo Central selection was based on the prevalence of fish farm in the area. A total of eight local government areas and eighty eight (88) fish farms were used for the study. It was discovered that clariid catfishes and tilapia were the only fish species cultured 90% and 9.1% respectively) The average quantity of fish produced in the study area per annum were 337,000kg and 19,000kg per annum for clariid catfish and tilapia respectively. Monoculture, semi intensive aquaculture and stocking density of 5 10 fish per mwas adopted by majority of the farmers. The result showed that family type and years of farming experience significantly affected quantity of fish produced (P= 0.001 and 0.003) respectively. The result also indicated that production tends to increase with years of experience, availability of labour, and educational qualification. The sector in Edo state is still in small scale and currently faced with the problem of high cost of feed, inadequate funds and poor power supply limiting intensive culture system INTRODUCTION The growth of a country's population is usually accompanied by increase in the demand for human basic necessities of life such as food, water, and shelter as it is the case with the unrestricted increase in the demand for protein rich food items especially of animal origin (Ugwumba and Chukwuji, 2010) Never before have people consumed so much fish or depended so greatly on the sector for their well being because it is cheaper than other protein sources (FAO, 2014) In 2012, aquaculture recorded all time production high and now provides almost half of all fish for human food. If responsibly developed and practiced, aquaculture can generate lasting benefits for global food security and economic growth (FAO, 2014) In Nigeria, the current demand for fish is about four times the level of local production. Aquaculture, an aspect of fisheries is an integral part of agriculture which was found to have the capacity to increase the country's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and can solve the unemployment problem for our teeming youths if adequately managed (Emmanuel et al. 2014) The farming of fish is the most common form of aquaculture. It involves raising fish commercially in tanks, ponds, or ocean enclosures, usually for food. In Nigeria, the most important fish species used in fish farming are Tilapia, clariid catfishes and carp. Aquaculture in the country was undergoing a slow process of development occasioned by the dearth of qualified personnel and poor awareness. However with the upsurge of population in the country which inadvertently led to increase in protein demand, the need for aquaculture development becomes obvious as it is seen as a veritable option that can complement the protein requirements of the teeming populace. For proper development, progress, and good aquaculture management, aquaculture data must be collected. It is essential for the management that the most appropriate and accurate information for management of the fishery is continuously collected and processed. In aquaculture, reliable and accurate information is crucial because only well informed decision makers can make good decisions. This will ensure proper planning, high production rate and consequently bridge the wide gap between fish demand and supply in the country. The aim of this study was to evaluate the aquaculture production in Edo State, and the specific objectives of the study were to determine the socio economic characteristics of fish farmers, identify the species and quantity of fish produced, determine fish culture system and scale of fish culture, and identify limitations of aquaculture production in Edo State.  The study was conducted in Edo state. The state was divided into three senatorial zones (Edo central, Edo north, Edo south) and eighteen local government areas. It has diverse vegetation ranging from mangrove forest through the lowland rainforest and savannah zones in the north (Adeosun et al. 2009) The area is suitable for aquaculture due to the abundant natural resources. The target population for this study consisted of registered fish farms in selected agro ecological zone of Edo state. The registered fish farms consisted of those farmers registered with the Department of Fisheries of the Edo state Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources. A multi stage sampling technique was used for this study. The first stage involved stratifying the state into the three recognized agro ecological zones vis (i) Edo south, (ii) Edo central and (iii) Edo north based on Agricultural Development Nigerian Journal of Agriculture, Food and Environment. 12(2):37 41 Published June, 2016 Okonji and Osayi, 2016 NJAFE VOL. 12 No. 2, 2016 38 Programme (ADP) delineation. The second stage involved a purposive selection (based on the high prevalence of fish farms in the area) of 50% of the Local Government Area (LGA) in each zone for the study. Stage 3: At the third stage 50% of the registered fish farms in each LGA selected as provided by the ministry of Agriculture and Natural resources were selected. Selection was based on purposive sampling of functional and existing farms. A total of 88 randomly sampled respondents were selected for the study. Data was collected through administration of well structured questionnaire to the fish farmers. The following data were collected: age distribution of farmers, sex distribution of farmers, farmers' experience, and species of fish cultured, size/number of ponds, quantity of species produced/cultured, limitations encountered by farmers, type of feed and feeding method employed. The data collected was analyzed using SPSS version 15. Descriptive statistics such as means, percentages and charts were used to illustrate trends. Also ttest was used to compare production among LGA. Regression analysis was used to test the relationship between socio economic characteristics against fish yield or production.  Age distribution of respondents The result on age distribution (Table 1) showed that 65.9% of fish farmers in the study area are 45years and below. This implied that fish farming is practiced by the young people in their very active and youthful age with the energy, zeal and ability to work. Egbufor et al. (2012) reported that the average age of 33years involve in fish farmer suggests young able bodied men who are largely and actively involved in fish farming. The chi square (kh) value indicated that there was no significant difference in the occurrence of the age distribution of respondents (kh= 0.104) and the pattern of distribution is uniform in all the local government area. Education of respondents The results in Table 2 indicated that 80.7 of fish farmers had tertiary education, 9.1% are secondary school holders 2.3% primary school holders while 8.0% had no formal education and they are basically from Esan south east (63.6% This implied that aquaculture is mainly practiced by educated people. This result is similar to the findings of Ifejika et al. 2013 who reported that 82.8% of farmers were found to be graduates of various degrees. The chi square value showed that there was no significant difference in the educational status of respondents in the local government area (kh 0.58) thus the distribution is similar in the study area.  Age distribution of respondents Age(yrs) Egor Oredo IKP ESE ENE OWE ETC ETW X kh 18 25yrs 0% 7.4% 3.8% 0% 0% 0% 25,0% 0% 4.5% 26 35yrs 50.0% 44.4% 34.6% 9.1% 0% 0% 0% 50.0% 34.1% 0.104 36 45yrs 28.6% 14.8% 30.8% 54.5% 0% 33.3% 25.0% 0% 27.3% 46 55yrs 7.1% 11.1% 7.7% 27.3% 0% 0% 50% 0% 12,5% >55yrs 14.3% 22.2% 23.1% 9.1% 100% 66.7% 0% 50% 21.6% LGA: IKP Ikopba okha, ESE Esan South East, ENE Esan North East, OWE= Owan East, ETC Etsako Central, ETW Etsako West. Table 2.Educational status of respondents Edu status Egor Oredo IKP ESE ENE OWE ETC ETW X kh No formal education 0% 0% 0% 63.6% 0% 0% 0% 0% 8.0% Pry sch 0% 3.7% 0% 9.1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 2.3% 0.58 Sec sch 14.3% 0% 7.7% 27.3% 0% 33.3% 0% 0% 9.1% Tertiary 85.7% 96.3% 92.3% 0% 100% 66.7% 100% 100% 80.7% LGA: IKP Ikopba okha, ESE Esan South East, ENE Esan North East, OWE= Owan East, ETC Etsako Central, ETW Etsako West. Management practices in the study area (species of fish cultured) The result on fish species cultured (Table 3) showed that clariid catfish are mainly cultured by farmers (90.9% while the culture of both clariid catfish and tilapia recorded a grand mean of 9.1% This may be attributed to the desirable qualities of clariid catfishes for culture which includes, hardiness, acceptability, resistance to pest and disease, high acceptance by consumers, higher sales price, high growth and survival. This agrees with Emmanuel et al. (2014) and Atanda, (2007) who stated that in terms of importance and acceptability Clariid catfish (80% and tilapia (14% are top most on the list. The chi square value showed no difference (i.e. the response is similar in the study area) Thus the major fish species under culture is the Clariid cat fish. Intensity of culture The result on intensity of fish culture (Table 4) indicated that 81.8% of fish farmers practice semi intensive aquaculture, 10.2% practiced extensive aquaculture, and 8.0% practiced intensive aquaculture. The dominant use of semi intensive aquaculture maybe due to the relatively moderate