Socio-economic factors affecting fisherfolks in Otuocha and Ebenebe fishing communities in Anambra state, Nigeria

Abstract

Fishing is an important source of income contributing to the economy of fishing communities living around Ezu and Omamabala Rivers in Ebenebe and Otuocha areas in Anambra State, Nigeria. A total of 120 structured questionnaires were distributed to obtain the socio-economic information from the respondents. Descriptive statistic was used for the data analysis. Results from the study revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) between Ebenebe and Otuocha fishing communities, in terms of level of education attained, with no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the average monthly income earned. The study also showed that 71.7% of the respondents were males which engaged in fish farming while 28.3% were females involving in fish processing and trading, both of which were mostly within the age bracket of 30-39 years. The highest household size (35.9%) comprised of 6 members while 92.3% of the respondents had one form of education or the other. Most of the respondents (69.6%) took fishing as their major occupation while 30.4% also involved in other activities in addition to fishing operations. A 5-point likert scale was employed to record challenges of the respondents, and could be concluded that the socio-economic conditions of the fisherfolks in the study areas were not highly excellent due to lack of basic social amenities and modern fishing facilities amongst other factors. Keywords: Fisher folks, Social-Economic factors, Ebenebe, Otuocha, Anambra