Assessing the effect of global warming on a fish pen culture in Epe Lagoon Lagos, Nigeria

The effect of the global warming trends is causing increasing cases of heat waves and heat strokes, which has become a global environmental concern with detrimental consequences to human health and the ecosystems at large. The culture of fish in lagoons has supported in skills acquisition, empowerment, and food security. The prevalences of fish mortalities from within fish coops installed in the Epe lagoon were reported, hence the need to investigate water quality variables and phytoplankton in this ecosystem to understand the perceived cause of the death. Water and plankton samples were collected for analysis as well as face to face interview from residents at six areas within the lagoon. The results revealed a freshwater ecosystem with very low brackish water influence from the connecting Lagos lagoon. Notably, the water and air temperatures swerved from the norm and increased sharply during the sampling period. This was also verified by residents of the area as well as the inordinate mats of water hyacinth that further acted as a mask for the trapped heat which remarkably aggravated the heat stress situation. The excessive heat amongst other variables could have led to the fish mortalities at the study area. There is a need to develop home-grown adaptive strategies for the implications of climate change-related events in aquaculture concerns in coastal areas and lagoons. These will assist largely as the issues that caused the fish mortalities are still very present in the region.