British Journl of Nutrition (07), 97, 145 152 q The Authors 07 DOI: 10.1017/S000711471734 Inter-household nd intr-household ptterns of fish nd met consumption in fishing communities in two sttes in Nigeri Ahmed Gomn 1 nd Krishen Rn 2 * 1 Federl College of Eduction, PMB 39, Kontgor, Niger Stte, Nigeri 2 Institute of Aquculture, University of Stirling, FK9 4LA, Scotlnd, UK nd Division of Aquculture, Deprtment of Genetics, Stellenosch University, South Afric Fish is generlly regrded s primry source of protein for mny poor Africn fishing communities. The present study compred the reltive importnce of fish s high-qulity dietry protein source with met in fishing communities in two sttes in Nigeri. Fifty fishing households in which ctive fishing ws the primry ctivity nd fifty non-fishing households (griculture eing stted s primry ctivity) in trditionl fishing communities were rndomly selected in the costl stte of Lgos nd the inlnd stte of Niger. A simple weighing lnce ws designed nd given to ech household to mesure fish or met entering the household for consumption. A comprison of consumption using this method ginst the 24 h recll method reveled tht the recll method ccounted for only one third of ctul fish consumed. Overll, the price of fish ws higher nd consumption lower in Lgos compred with Niger Stte. At the household level in oth sttes, the consumption of fish in fishing households ws twice tht of non-fishing households, wheres met consumption ws similr. A totl of thirty-nine different fish species were consumed, with Tilpi contriuting 24 % y weight of the fish consumed. In oth sttes, eef ws the most frequently consumed met, followed y got met. The study reveled high preference for fresh fish. The highest fish consumption occurred in Mrch, corresponding to the period of lowest met consumption. On unit weight sis, heds of households consumed 59 % more fish thn their wives or children. Nigeri: Fish nd met consumption: Intr-household fish consumption ptterns Met nd fish form n integrl prt of the diet of Nigerin people nd re considered to e essentil protein foods, lso serving s focl point for the fmily mel (Elliot & Ezenw, 1988). The reltive contriution of ech these protein sources, however, my vry depending on the livelihood ctivities of the fmily, their income nd fish vilility. In rurl nd fishing communities in Nigeri, fish is known to ply significnt role in the diet, providing up to 75 % of the totl niml protein intke (Deprtment for Interntionl Development Food nd Agriculture Orgniztion, 02). In mny developing countries, the dependency on fish remins high s sustitutes in the form of other niml foods re inccessile to the poor (Kent, 1987). The ctul quntity of niml foods consumed is, however, poorly documented. The rnge of fish species utilised y fishing nd rurl communities is lso lrgely unknown, lthough it is commonly ccepted tht Tilpi species tht re sourced from openccess odies of wter mke notle contriution to household consumption. The nutritionl vlue of fish nd met, in terms of oth protein nd micronutrients, in child development is well documented (Bender, 1992; Mori et l. 1999; Addis, 04). The vilility of nd ccess to fish within household cn therefore e n importnt determinnt of its memers well-eing. At the household level, the consumption ptterns my depend on the vilility of hrd currency, the primry ctivity of the household nd the socil structures nd customs. Fishing communities re frequently identified s eing mong the poorest of the poor (Jziry et l. 1992) nd re often chrcterised y overcrowded living conditions nd indequte services, low levels of eduction nd lck of skills nd ssets (prticulrly lnd) tht would permit diversifiction of their livelihoods (Townsley, 1998). The im of the present study ws therefore to test the premise tht fish re n importnt source of protein in fishing communities when compred with met in two sttes in Nigeri y exmining the diversity of fish species nd met consumed, nd investigting the comprtive importnce of intr-household consumption ptterns of fish nd met. Method Selection of sttes nd households within fishing communities Two sttes with different eco-zones nd culturl ckgrounds were identified for the study: Niger, n inlnd stte with predomintely Muslim popultion, nd Lgos, costl stte with predominntly Christin popultion (Fig. 1). In ech stte, strtified scheme for rndomly selected households ws used. Households were grouped y the primry occuption of the hed of the household. Those heds of households in fishing communities stting fishing s their primry occuption were clssified s fishing households. Households in which other * Corresponding uthor: Dr Krishen Rn, fx þ 44 1786 472133, emil k.j.rn@stir.c.uk.
146 A. Gomn nd K. Rn Sokoto Ktsin Kei Zmfor Kno Jigw Yoe Borno Niger Kodun Buchi Gome Kwr F.C.T. Nssrw Plteu Admw Oyo Osogo Ekiti Kogi Tr Ogun Benue Lgos Ondo Edo Delt Byels Anmr Imo Rivers Enugu Akw iom Umuhi Eonyi Cross River SCALE: 1:600 0000 Fig. 1. Mp of Nigeri showing the study sites: Niger (p) nd Lgos ( ) sttes. ctivities were given s their min occuption ut where fishing could lso e n dditionl ctivity were clssed s non-fishing. A totl of fifty fishing nd fifty non-fishing households in fishing communities in Niger nd Lgos sttes were rndomly selected for the study. These households were rndomly selected from five fishing villges in ech of the two sttes. In ech villge, five fishing nd five non-fishing households were rndomly selected for the study. The smpling strtegy is outlined in Fig. 2. For ech household, the ges of household memers nd the income of the hed of the household were recorded. Recording of dily fish nd met intke y households To otin quntifile informtion on consumption, simple field weighing lnce ws designed utilising dry snd nd stones for weights (Fig. 3(A)). Ech household ws given the field lnce to mesure the weight of fish or met entering the household for consumption. The fish to e weighed ws plced on one side of the scle nd then lnced with loclly sourced stones nd dry snd (Fig. 3(A)). After lncing items with the stones nd the dry snd, the snd nd stones were trnsferred nd stored in lelled polythene g. If two or more species of fish were eten, the species were weighed seprtely. The stones nd snd tht lnced the weight of the different species of fish, together with species nmes, were kept in different lelled polythene gs. The polythene gs were then tied nd stored within lrger polythene g. The consumption of met ws estimted in similr mnner. The stones nd dry snd were mesured the following dy or lter y n extension gent using clirted scle (Fig. 3(A)). The weight of the stones nd snd indicted the weight of the fish or met eten y the household nd the fish species recorded. Fish or met intke ws recorded dily for 7 months (Jnury July 03). Intr-household fish consumption nd distriution A 24 h recll method ws used to otin the mount of fish eten y individul memers within ech household. Fish smples were shown to the memers of the household, who were sked to pick the fish similr in size to the one they hd eten the previous dy. This fish ws then weighed nd the result recorded to represent the mount tht person hd consumed. This vlue ws lso used to verify dt collected the previous dy. In some cses, the wife who cooked nd distriuted the fish ws sked to pick the fish similr in size to the one she hd given to the hed of household, the women nd the children. The fish ws then weighed nd recorded s tht eten y them. They were lso sked to recll the prts of fish eten nd the prts thrown wy. Informtion on the form of the fish used for cooking (fresh, smoked, dried) nd source of the fish (river, lgoon, se, mrket) ws lso otined using the 24 h recll method. Sttisticl nlyses The reltionship etween fish consumption nd income ws nlysed using Person correltion. The generl liner model ws
Met nd fish consumption in Nigeri 147 Two sttes Niger Lgos Five fishing villges Five fishing households per villge Five non-fishing households per villge Age of household memers Annul income Religion of hed of household Recording of dily fish nd met intke Consumption of fish nd met Intr-household fish consumption nd distriution Fish species consumed Sources nd forms of fish nd met used for cooking Fig. 2. Smpling strtegy used for selecting households. used to nlyse fish consumption to estlish significnt (P, 0 05) differences in monthly fish consumption in fishing nd non-fishing households in fishing communities in Niger nd Lgos sttes (Minit softwre 14 12; Stte College, PA, USA). The dt were not normlly distriuted nd were therefore trnsformed to otin the est fit. Squre-root trnsformtion gve etter results nd ws therefore used for the nlysis. Results The men fmily size of ll the surveyed households in the fishing villges ws 7 0 memers, nd out 90 % of the children in the households were elow the ge of 16. In fishing households, the min income ws derived from fishing, wheres crop frming ws the min source of income in non-fishing households. Aout 98 % of fishing households hd crop frming s secondry occuption, nd only 2 % were involved in petty trding. Aout 76 % of non-fishing households hd fishing s secondry occuption, while others were involved in petty trding nd hunting. Consumption of fish species nd met In totl, thirty-nine different species groups were consumed in fishing villges. The species consumed in Niger were exclusively freshwter fish, wheres those consumed in Lgos were oth fresh nd rckish wter species. Two locl government res in Lgos hd freshwter lgoon s their min source of fish. A totl of twenty-five nd twenty-two fish species groups were consumed in Niger nd Lgos sttes, respectively (Fig. 4). In Niger stte, Tilpi species were consumed with highest frequency (19 %), followed y Synodontis (14 %) nd Mormyrops species (11 %). The lest consumed species group were snils. Tilpi species were lso consumed with Fig. 3. The design nd procedure for mesuring fish nd met using simple lnce. (A) A memer of the household lncing fish with loclly sourced stones (corse lncing) nd dry snd (fine lncing). (B) An extension gent mesuring the stones nd dry snd with n ctul scle t the time of his visit.
148 A. Gomn nd K. Rn highest frequency (31 %) in Lgos, followed y Crnx (8 %) nd Sphyren (Brrcud) species (7 %). The lest consumed fish species ws titus ice fish (Scomer jponicum). Sixteen types of met were lso consumed y fishing nd non-fishing communities in the two sttes, lthough three mets were consumed t notle level. Beef ws the most frequently eten met (47 %), followed y got met ( %) nd chicken (14 %). Grss-cutter ws the ush met tht ws eten with the highest frequency (9 %). The lest consumed met ws lm (,0 5 %). Household consumption ptterns of fish nd met All fishing nd non-fishing households selected for this study consumed fish throughout the survey period, nd feedck from prticiptory meetings with fishing villges confirmed tht fish ws consumed throughout the yer. The consumption ptterns of fish in Niger nd Lgos sttes re given in Fig. 5(A). Fish consumption in Niger ws lmost twice tht in Lgos. The verge dily weights of fish consumed per household in Niger nd Lgos were 217 g (79 kg/yer) nd 124 g (45 kg/yer), respectively. In oth sttes, the (A) (A) 300 Frequency of consumption (%) Frequency of consumption (%) (B) 15 10 5 0 35 30 25 15 10 Synodontis spp Mormyrops spp Cithrinus spp Clris spp Heteroitis niloticus Gnthonemus spp Hydrocynus spp Tilpi spp 5 0 Tilpi spp Crnx spp Sphyren spp Cynoglossus spp Bgrus spp Cr Heteroitis niloticus Snil Clris spp Alestis spp Clrotes spp Pomdsys spp Lte sp Distichodus spp Leo spp Eutropius niloticus Fish Pseudotolithus spp Chrysicthys spp Shrimp Fish Ophiocephlus spp Gymnrchus niloticus Titus ice fish Gymnrchus niloticus Alestis spp Polypterus spp Chrysicthys spp Heterornchus spp Petrocephlus spp Protopterus sp Mlpterurus electricus Mugil sp Srdinell sp Arius spp Ethmlos sp Gleoides spp Lutjnus goreensis Mckerel ice fish Fig. 4. Overll consumption frequencies of fish species in fishing communities in (A) Niger nd (B) Lgos sttes. Species consumed in Niger were exclusively freshwter fish, wheres those consumed in Lgos were oth fresh nd rckish wter species. Two locl government res in Lgos hd freshwter lgoon s their min source of fish. Dt not shown re too smll to pper on the scle. Snil Titus ice fish Weight of fish (g/d) (B) Weight of fish (g/d) (C) Weight of fish (g/d) 2 0 1 100 300 2 0 1 100 300 2 0 1 100 Jn. Fe. Mrch April My June July Jn. Fe. Mrch April My June July Jn. Fe. Mrch April My June July Fig. 5. The temporl fish consumption pttern in fishing communities in (A) Niger ( ) nd Lgos (W) sttes, (B) fishing ( ) nd non-fishing (W) households, nd (C) mud-thtched ( ), mud-zinc (W), moo huts (L) nd plnkzinc (P) households.
Met nd fish consumption in Nigeri 149 consumption of fish ws significntly higher in fishing thn non-fishing households (Fig. 5(B)). Overll, fishing households consumed n verge of 230 g fish/d compred with 111 g fish/d for non-fishing households, which corresponded to n extrpolted nnul household fish consumption of 84 nd 41 kg/yer for Niger nd Lgos, respectively. This corresponds to n nnul consumption of 12 nd 5 8 kg/person, respectively. In this study, sic house construction ws used s n indictor of welth. The house types in decresing order of welth rnking identified in the study re were mud-zinc, plnk-zinc, moo huts nd mud-thtched. The mjority of mud-thtched (96 %) nd mud-zinc (86 %) households were found in Niger stte. Plnk-zinc nd moo huts were only found in Lgos stte. Mud-zinc households hd higher nnul income (N295 259; 1 US$ ¼ N (Nir) 128 in 03 during the time of the study)) thn plnk-zinc (N291 697), moo hut (N266 624) nd mud-thtched (N246 621) households. The consumption of fish ws, however, higher in mud-thtched households (5 g/household per dy) thn mud-zinc (188 g/household per dy), moo huts (137 g/household per dy) nd plnkzinc (115 g/household per dy) households (Fig. 5(C)). There ws no significnt reltionship etween fish consumption nd income (r 2 0 025, P¼0 801). Met consumption ws lso higher in Niger thn Lgos stte (Fig. 6(A)). The verge dily weight of met consumed per household in Niger nd Lgos sttes ws 61 nd 38 g, respectively. Non-fishing households consumed greter mount of met (51 g/d) thn fishing (48 g/d) households (Fig. 6B). Mud-zinc nd mud-thtched households consumed n verge of 57 58 g met/d, compred with 36 g for plnk-zinc nd 35 g for moo hut households (Fig. 6(C)). The consumption of fish ws higher thn tht of met in fishing communities in oth sttes in Nigeri. The verge dily weight of fish consumed per household ws 171 g (62 kg/yer), compred with g (18 kg/yer) for met. Fish consumption ws highest during Mrch (190 g/household per dy), corresponding to the period of lowest met (40 g/household per dy) consumption. Met consumption ws highest in Ferury. The verge dily weight of fish consumed per person ws 24 g (9 kg/yer), nd tht of met 7 g (3 kg/yer). There were highly significnt (P, 0 001) differences in overll monthly fish consumption etween fishing nd nonfishing households in fishing communities in Niger nd Lgos sttes. In oth sttes, the verge dily fish consumption in ll the months (Jnury July) in fishing households ws significntly (P, 0 001) higher thn tht of non-fishing households. The significnt differences re summrised in Fig. 7. Sources nd forms of fish nd met used for cooking The rivers were the mjor source of fish consumed (61 %) y ll the households, followed y lgoons (18 %), mrkets (14 %), creeks (5 %) nd the se (2 %), wheres locl mrkets were the mjor source of met (93 %). Aout 5 % of the mets eten were ush mets. Some households hd nimls (2 %) tht were occsionlly slughtered nd eten, especilly during festivls. Most of the fish nd mets consumed during the study were cooked in fresh form. Smoked, (A) Weight of met (g/d) (B) Weight of met (g/d) (C) Weight of met (g/d) 90 80 70 60 40 30 90 80 70 60 40 30 90 80 70 60 40 30 Jn. Fe. Mrch April My June July Jn. Fe. Mrch April My June July Jn. Fe. Mrch April My June July Fig. 6. Temporl consumption ptterns of mets in fishing communities in (A) Niger ( ) nd Lgos (W) sttes, (B) fishing ( ) nd non-fishing (W) households, nd (C) mud-thtched ( ), mud-zinc (W), moo huts (L) nd plnk-zinc (P) households. frozen, dried nd rosted fish nd met were only occsionlly cooked. Price of fish species nd met in two sttes in Nigeri The price of fresh or smoked fish ws significntly higher in Lgos thn Niger stte. The higher priced fish in Lgos
1 A. Gomn nd K. Rn 0 e e e ef 400 c f cf Weight of fish (g/d) 300 0 100 c d d c d d cf 0 Jn. Fe. Mrch April My June July Fig. 7. Averge dily weights of fish consumed within ech month in fishing nd non-fishing households in fishing communities in Niger nd Lgos sttes (men vlues with stndrd devitions indicted y verticl rs). Vlues with unlike superscript letters were significntly different: P.0 05. A, Niger, fishing households; p, Niger, non-fishing households; B, Logos fishing households;, Logos, non-fishing household. were of rckish nd mrine species. Sphyren species (rrcud) were the highest-priced fish, fetching three times the price of the chepest fish, i.e. Tilpi. Other rckish nd mrine species were twice s expensive s Tilpi. The verge price of fresh Gymnrchus niloticus in Niger ws N274/kg, compred with N422/kg for Brrcud in Lgos stte, wheres fresh Tilpi, the most commonly eten fish, fetched N131 nd N154/kg in Niger nd Lgos stte, respectively. The prices of ll fresh mets were lso higher in Lgos thn Niger stte. Chicken ws the most expensive met, selling t n verge price of N765/kg in oth sttes, followed y lm (N570/kg), got met (N7/kg) nd eef (N462/kg). Intr household fish consumption nd distriution On unit ody weight sis, the heds of households consumed 59 % more fish thn their wives or the children. The verge weight of fish consumed y the hed of the household ws 0 27 kg fish/kg ody weight per yer, compred with 0 17 kg fish/kg ody weight per yer for the wife nd child (Tle 1). On occsions when single fish ws shred within the household, the ody of the fish ws given to the hed of the household on eight out of ten occsions, the til to the wife on seven out of ten occsions, nd the hed to the children on eight of ten occsions. Memers of the household te every prt of the fish. Chewed ones were discrded only when lrge fish were eten. Discussion A simple field lnce ws designed nd used in this study in order to otin quntifile informtion on fish nd met in fishing communities to reduce cost of opertion nd improve ccurcy, therey providing more meningful results thn the commonly used recll method. In the present study, this pproch demonstrted tht the recll method ccounted for only one third of the ctul fish consumed (57 v. 171 g/household per dy). Previous studies (Zhi et l. 1996; Core, 03) lso found significnt underreporting of food intke using the 24 h dietry recll method, highlighting the need for cre in interpreting recll dt, especilly when plnning feeding progrmmes. Consumption of fish species nd met A lrge numer of species (thirty-nine) were consumed y the fishing communities in oth sttes, emphsising the importnce of the sustinle mngement of the qutic iodiversity in these ecosystems. Tilpi ws the most undntly consumed species in oth sttes, proly reflecting the finding of It (1993) tht these species comprised the highest reltive undnce in locl rivers. In the costl stte of Lgos, Tilpi were lso sourced from two freshwter lgoons. The high Tle 1. Averge weights of fish consumed per ody weight y memers of households in fishing communities in two sttes in Nigeri Memers of households Hed of household Wife Child Men weight of fish consumed 24 12 5 (kg/person per yer) Estimted ody weight (kg) 90 70 30 Weight of fish consumed per unit ody weight (kg/ody weight per yer) 0 27 0 17 0 17
Met nd fish consumption in Nigeri 151 Tle 2. Averge weights of fish nd met consumed per household per yer in fishing communities in Niger nd Lgos sttes* Weight (kg/household per yer) Fish Met Stte Fishing households Non-fishing households Fishing households Non-fishing households Niger 103 55 23 21 Lgos 64 26 12 16 Averge of two sttes 84 41 18 19 *Dt sed on households fish nd met consumption survey. consumption of Tilpi my, however, lso e due to preference for this fish (Dreschl et l. 1995) nd low mrket price, resulting in fishing households consuming these species rther thn selling them nd non-fishing households eing le to fford to purchse them. Beef ws the met consumed with the highest frequency, which grees with the findings of Ldele et l. (1996). These uthors ttriuted this to the high vilility of chicken. In this study, eef ws nerly two-thirds the price of chicken, nd therefore its high consumption could lso e due to its reltively lower mrket price. Household consumption ptterns of fish nd met Fishing communities in Niger consumed twice s much fish nd met thn those in Lgos (Tle 2). This higher consumption ws proly the consequence of the ccess tht fishermen hd to open odies of wter to fish or to construct trditionl quculture systems, nd not hving to py for fish they consumed. The lower consumption rtes of fish in Lgos stte could e due to fishing households selling more of their fish ctch to generte income in Lgos mrkets where prices re higher, nd to nonfishing households uying less due to reltively higher prices. Households pttern of consumption of fish vried during the yer. In oth sttes nd in fishing communities, more fish were consumed etween Mrch nd My, which coincided with pek fish lndings nd high ernings (Dreschl et l. 1995). The consumption ptterns of fish lso pper to e relted to the lour time mngement of the household heds with respect to the rins. The low consumption of fish in June nd July coincided with riny seson, when fishermen lso work on their frmlnds. Low fish consumption during this period my lso e ttriuted to ulk sles of fish to generte income to procure seed nd hire lourers. Although Jnury nd Ferury re periods of low fish vilility, fishermen re ctively engged in fishing during this period s they do not work on rin-fed frms. The 7 months covered y the survey included the pek nd off-pek sesons for fish vilility nd consumption. It is therefore ssumed tht nnul extrpolted consumption vlues could e reflective of nnul consumption. Nevertheless, such dt should e interpreted with cution. The extrpolted nnul men fish intke in the fishing households surveyed ws twice tht of non-fishing households. In the current study, there ws no significnt reltionship etween fish consumption nd income. In contrst, Jolly nd Clonts (1993) reported tht, s income incresed, the reltive preference for fish declined nd tht for red met incresed. They noted tht the households in lower socio-economic strt spent more of their income on fish thn on met. Met consumption lso vried during the yer, with pek consumption occurring in Ferury, which coincided with the Muslim festivl of Idl Kir, when rms re slughtered. Aout 77 % of the heds of households in the study re were Muslim. The contriution of fish to household niml protein intke in oth sttes ws very mrked, ccounting for up to 77 % of dietry niml protein intke, trend lso supported y Dreschl et l. (1995) nd Essumn (1992). This high consumption mong susistence frmers nd others with low purchsing power proly occurred ecuse these communities cquired fish t no monetry cost. In the southern regions of Ghn, met, eggs nd chicken re generlly considered to e prestigious foods nd re consumed mostly on festive occsions or re used to prepre food for importnt guests (Essumn, 1992). Aout 95 % of the fish eten during the study were cooked in the fresh form, which concurs with the findings of Adeniyi (1987). The consumption of fresh fish is importnt since processing fter hrvest, such s sun-drying, reduces its nutritionl qulity (Colowick & Kpln, 1969; Lilti et l. 1993; Roos, 01), lthough Cutting (1962) suggests tht processing loss hs reltively little effect on overll nutritive vlue. In contrst to findings from Bngldesh (Dreschl et l. 1995), the present study suggests tht trditionl quculture systems nd cpture fisheries were the min source of fish for fishing communities nd supports the oservtions of Jolly nd Clonts (1993). Unlike fish, the mrket ws the most importnt source for the met consumed y fishing villges, suggesting tht most of the nimls owned y fishermen nd non-fishermen in the fishing communities in Nigeri were rered for cpitl nd income resons. Intr-household fish consumption nd distriution The intr-household consumption of fish ws influenced y the socil structure within households. In the present study, fish consumption within households on unit ody weight sis ws highly skewed towrds heds of households, who consumed 59 % more fish thn their wives or children. Similr oservtions were lso noted for the intr-household distriution of the trditionl fish dish torcrry in Bngldesh y Roos (01), nd for intr-household fish distriution in Ghn y Essumn (1992). In mny grrin households, this form of food distriution proly reflects the greter energy demnds of men who engge in mnul lour,
152 A. Gomn nd K. Rn lthough, given the multitude of dily tsks crried out y women nd children, such s weeding nd collecting drinking wter nd fire wood, this premise is questionle. The reson offered y most of the women interviewed for the skewed intr-household distriution of fish prts for consumption ws tht their husnds might e emrrssed if given the fish hed or til. According to the women, the children te mostly the heds of the fish ecuse they were not s usy s their prents so they hd time to spend on eting the heds. Nutritionlly, this my e prticulrly importnt for children s fish heds contin greter concentrtions of vitmin A (Kent, 1987; Roos, 01). Smll whole fish tend to contriute fr more to dietry lnce thn do prepred portions of lrger fish (Welcomme, 01). This is prticulrly so s fish ones re rich in C, which could help in ody development, especilly in children. Incresed fish consumption y children my lso e eneficil in res where lctose intolernce is common or milk is expensive or in short supply (Kent, 1987). The uthor recommended the use of fish s wening food since smll children re highly vulnerle to mlnutrition. Conclusion In the present study, fish ws the preferred protein, its verge dily household consumption eing 3 4 times tht of met, which confirmed its importnce in the diet of rurl people. Although lrge numer of qutic species were consumed, few species dominted consumption, Tilpi eing the most importnt. Priority should e given to promoting the sustinility of these ecosystems nd enhncing the vilility of fish in qutic systems through improved nd ssured ccess to odies of wter nd n improved productivity of trditionl quculture frming systems. References Addis PB (04) Fish oil nd your helth. http://www.segrnt.umn. edu/fish/oil.html (ccessed 23 My 05). Adeniyi JP (1987) Fish consumption in Nigeri: implictions for fishery development policies. 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