1.1 Introduction
Aquaculture productions have increased in the last decade. Presently, world food fish production of aquaculture has expanded by almost 12 times, at an average annual rate of 8.8% (FAO, 2012). Over 300 aquatic species are farmed worldwide for production in a variety of facilities of varying input intensities and technological sophistication, using fresh, brackish and marine water (FAO, 2011). Aquaculture remains one of the fastest-growing agro-industrial activities in the last four decades and is projected to outpace population growth. In the next decade, total output from both capture and aquaculture is envisaged to exceed that of other livestock produce (FAO, 2009).
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Nigeria, the country of many rivers, is also rich in lakes, reservoirs and wetlands but many of them had been degraded due to a lot of factors (FGN, 1993). Sustainable fisheries production and development depends largely upon good aquatic environment. It is generally accepted that the future well-being of a developing country such as Nigeria, will depend upon a much wiser balance between exploitation and conservation of natural resources in order to achieve sustainable systems that would avoid environmental degradation (Butt, 1985).
The quality of the aquatic medium determines success to a very large extent in fisheries and aquaculture. Paulin (1989) noted that “the aquatic medium is in direct and immediate contact with the metabolic processes of fish”. Relevant soil structure and composition and natural environmental factors (e.g. pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, temperature, salinity) all influence the quality of the medium, which is turn determines the health of the fish and their performance. For quite some time now, Nigerian freshwater ecosystems are being damaged and degraded at accelerating rates by toxic contamination from industrial and urban pollution, infectious diseases, dam construction, irrigation, factory farming, forest and wetland destruction. Consequently, there has been a steady increase in the quality and diversity of discharges that reach our freshwater environment (Anko & Eyo, 2001).
Without question, the lack of available quality inland areas has emerged as the greatest threat to sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. Freshwater must be a national commons. Most human beings in developing countries like Nigeria view freshwater as a universal heritage of society, our common societal heritage of freshwater demands ecological maturation in the use of these finite resources. According to Ita (1993), in every regard to national health, agriculture and economics, the continued over exploitation and misuse of finite freshwater resources is directly causal to the progressively deteriorating fish production and general standard of living. We must recognize that fisheries and aquaculture development depends on maintaining satisfactory water quality.
The integration of basic understanding of the inland water systems with applied problems and their solutions should be of concern to all stakeholders in our freshwater resources. The study highlights the importance of quality inland area in Nigeria for fisheries including aquaculture and examines the various sources of degradation their impacts and possible control measures for effective development of aquaculture.
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Developing Aquaculture in Degraded Inland Areas.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Degradation of inland waters in Nigeria occurs in both rural and urban areas. In the rural areas inland waters such as rivers, streams and lakes are usually polluted by inorganic substances used in agricultural activities usually pollute streams and lakes. Such substances include fertilizers pesticides and herbicides. These substances applied on farmlands are sometimes washed down by rain into stagnant ponds and pools of water on the plain and also into storage reservoirs.
Excessive load of fertilizers (nutrients) in the water, generate, excessive growth of phytoplankton, which in turn can lead to high biological oxygen demand, thus resulting in aquatic degradation as a result of drastic oxygen depletion of the water, causing much stress to the great majority of fish species, which gradually die off. Many factories in Nigeria are located on riverbanks and use the rivers as open sewers for their effluent. Improper disposal of untreated industrial wastes has resulted in -coloured, murky, odorous and unwholesome fresh waters, fish-kills and a loss of water quality.
The major industries responsible for water pollution in Nigeria include petroleum, mining (for gold, tin and coal), wood and pulp, pharmaceuticals, textiles, plastics, iron and steel, brewing, distillery fermentation, paint, beverages and food. However, this study is examining how aquaculture can be developed even with these degradations in Nigeria.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to investigate the Developing Aquaculture in Degraded Inland Areas in Nigeria. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To examine the level of degradations of the inland areas in Nigeria.
- To examine the process of aquaculture development in degraded inland areas in Nigeria.
- To identify the effect of degraded inland area on aquaculture development in Nigeria.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- What is the level of degradations of the inland areas in Nigeria?
- What is the process of aquaculture development in degraded inland areas in Nigeria?
- What are the effects of degraded inland area on aquaculture development in Nigeria?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
H0: There is no significant effect of Degraded Inland Areas in Developing Aquaculture in Nigeria
H1: There is significant effect of Degraded Inland Areas in Developing Aquaculture in Nigeria
1.7 Significance of Study
The following are the significance of this study:
- The outcome of this study will educate on the level of degradation of the inland area in Nigeria and the effects of these degradations on aquaculture development.
- This research will be a contribution to the body of literature in the area of the effect of personality trait on student's academic performance, thereby constituting the empirical literature for future research in the subject area
1.8 Scope Of The Study
This study will cover the level of inland area degradation in Nigeria and its effect on aquaculture development.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
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