A comparative study of fisheries production patterns in the upper Benue river, Lake Chad and the Nguru-Gashua wetlands of north east Nigeria

This paper reports the findings of a study which set out to increase scientific understanding of the relationship between the annual riverine hydrological cycle and the fisheries production patterns in the Upper Benue River, Lake Chad and the Nguru-Gashua Wetlands, in North East Nigeria. The study was carried out over a calendar year (1995-96), and in turn compared with the results of other earlier studies in an attempt to fit the annual patterns recorded into the longer term trends which have been reported in the literature. These three fishing zones were chosen because the incorporate a range of environmental conditions, different types of fisheries, and fishing-farming systems. A tri-partite and parallel comparison of the fisheries over a year provides a unique and valuable insight into their dynamics and operation.