Stock Status of Brycinus Nurse (Ruppel 1832) in Oguta lake, Nigeria for Conservation and Management Strategies

The Fish stock status: growth rates, recruitment, Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY), Mortality and Exploitation rate of B. nurse in Oguta lake, Nigeria, were investigated. The study was aimed at providing baseline information for the conservation and management strategies for the sustainability of its fishery. Standard lengths of 174,296 samples of B. nurse caught with assorted fishing gears were taken fortnightly from January to July, 2023. Data were analyzed by Electronic Length Frequency Analysis (ELEFAN II) fitted into the Von Bertalanffy Growth Model (VBGM). The VBGM for this study was L(t) = 35.70[1 – e-0.29(t – 3.05)]. Estimated Total Mortality (Z) was 1.98 yr-1, Fishing Mortality (F) = 0.26yr-1 and Exploitation rate (E) was 0.15yr-1. B. nurse was not over-exploited in Oguta Lake but the fishing is not operating at its MSY and the Reproductive load is low indicating that there should be restriction on the mesh sizes and closed fishing within the identified recruitment period of the Month of May, every year to avert the future collapse of B. nurse fishery in the lak