Inter-household and intra-household patterns of fish and meat consumption in fishing communities in two states in Nigeria

Fish is generally regarded as a primary source of protein for many poor African fishing communities. The present study compared the relative importance of fish as a high-quality dietary protein source with meat in fishing communities in two states in Nigeria. Fifty fishing households in which active fishing was the primary activity and fifty non-fishing households (agriculture being stated as primary activity) in traditional fishing communities were randomly selected in the coastal state of Lagos and the inland state of Niger. A simple weighing balance was designed and given to each household to measure fish or meat entering the household for consumption. A comparison of consumption using this method against the 24 h recall method revealed that the recall method accounted for only one third of actual fish consumed. Overall, the price of fish was higher and consumption lower in Lagos compared with Niger State. At the household level in both states, the consumption of fish in fishing households was twice that of non-fishing households, whereas meat consumption was similar. A total of thirty-nine different fish species were consumed, with Tilapia contributing 24 % by weight of the fish consumed. In both states, beef was the most frequently consumed meat, followed by goat meat. The study revealed a high preference for fresh fish. The highest fish consumption occurred in March, corresponding to the period of lowest meat consumption. On a unit weight basis, heads of households consumed 59 % more fish than their wives or children

Microbiological quality of some iced fishes of Imphal market, Manipur

Imphal is the main marketing centre of fish in Manipur. As fish production of the state is not sufficient to meet the demands, about 120 metric tons of iced fishes are annually brought from other states and sold in this market. Microbiological quality of iced Wallago attu, Labeo rohita, L. gonius and Aorichthy aor in respect of total fungal count (TFC), total plate count of bacteria (TPC), Most Probable Number (MPN) of coliforms, Streptococci, Staphylococcus, Salmonella and Escherichia coli in four tissues (skin, muscle, gill and intestine) were analysed. In all cases, the counts were highest in the gills and lowest in the muscles. The values of TFC, TPC, coliforms, Streptococci and Staphylococci were 0-10³/g 10(sup)6-10⁸/g, 2-α/g, 10-10⁵/g, 10-10⁵/g respectively. E. coli and Salmonella were not detected in any of the samples while the ice used in the preservation contained 10⁵-10⁷ of TPC per gram. The microbiological qualities of the iced fishes of Imphal market were adjudged poor. The extremely high counts of bacteria might be due to (1) poor quality and left over fishes being packed, (2) contact with contaminated ice and (3) repeated thawing and freezing during the process of marketing and transportation.Paper presented at the National Symposium on Aquacrops, 16-18 November 1994, Versova, Bombay (India

Germination and Growth Behaviour of Seedlings of Emblica ofƒicinalis Gaertn under Different Light and Nutrient Regimes in Field Conditions

Emblica officinalis Gaertn. is an important non-timber forest product plant which is known in improving livelihood of the people of north-east India. This plant is widely used in the Indian system of medicines and believed to increase the body immunity against diseases. A trial was made to assess the initial growth performance of seedlings of E. officinalis under three light regimes viz. Open-100% ambient sunlight (FAL), partial-80% ambient sunlight (PAL) and deep shade-40% ambient sunlight (DAL) and four nutrient conditions (NPK, saw dust biochar, cowdung and untreated) during a 3-months period in the Department of Forestry Mizoram University, Mizoram India. After 12 weeks of exposure to different light regimes and nutrient conditions, initial growth parameters of the seedlings like number of leaves, shoot length, root length, biomass and vigour index measured in order to understand the best growth conditions for the plant. The results reveal that seed germination and other growth parameters were significantly (P&lt;0.05) influenced by light regimes and nutrient treatments. The seedling height, number of leaves, shoot length, root length and biomass was significantly higher under FAL. All growth parameters including seed germination were poor under DAL.</jats:p