Length-Weight Relationship and Spawning Season of Bagrus bayad (Forsskal, 1775) in Yamama Lake Kebbi State, Nigeria

Abstract

High production capacity of members of Bagridae family in the wild has prompted many attempts by fisheries scientists to culture them. Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus have been cultured along with Tilapia melanoplura and Cyprinus carpio in Buguma, Nigeria, with encouraging results [1]. Bagrus docmac have been cultured with Tilapia in Uganda and being carnivorous, they were found to be effective in controlling Tilapia population. Many catfishes do not readily breed under captivity because they are not able to exhibit their natural spawning behavior in artificial ponds and this constitutes a limiting factor to their culture and mass production [2]. Bagrus bayad, also called bayad with local (Hausa) name Shambani is a member of Bagridae family which are commonly referred to as a naked catfish. They are commercially important species found in Nigeria fresh waters especially in Rivers and Lakes such as Niger, Kaduna, Benue, Lake Chad, and other inland waters [3]. The length-weight relationship (LWR) of fishes are important in fisheries biology and the study of natural history of fishes because they allow the estimation of the average weight of fish of a given length group by creating a mathematical relationship between them [4,5]. LWR can also be used to calculate condition indices, to compare life history and morphology of population belonging to different region and to study oncogenic allometric changes [6,7]. LWR is also an important factor in fish ecology and in the biological study of fishes, being of prime importance in parameterizing fish yield equation in stock assessment and management [8].