Constraints to Artisanal Fishing in Eastern Obolo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

The study investigated the constraints to artisanal fishing in Eastern Obolo LGA of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Data were collected using structured questionnaire, administered on 90 fish farmers, who were selected through purposive random sampling technique from Educwink, Elekpon and Agan-asa fishing depots. Factor analysis was used to analyse the data, while the results were presented in table and charts. Socioeconomic (4.895), institutional/infrastructural (4.368), environmental (3.708), technological (3.063) and human (2.216) factors constrained artisanal fishing in the study. The socioeconomic constraints included lack of credit facilities (0.766), lack of capital (0.680), theft (0.620), high cost of transportation (0.581) and poor income (0.524), while the institutional/infrastructural constraints comprised market inaccessibility (0.695), lack of processing facilities (0.459) and lack of storage facilities (-0.432). Bad weather (0.578), oil spillage and pollution (0.536), and water plants infestation (0.473) were the environmental factors that constrained artisanal fishing. The technological constraints included poor boat-gear design (0.565) and use of obsolete fishing tools (-0.494), while poor maintenance of fishing equipment (0.642), overfishing (-0.471) and conflicts among fishermen (-0.461) characterized the human constraints. The study recommended policies that will enhance financial inclusion and increased access to credit facilities by artisanal fishermen. Also recommended, were policies that will enable the establishment of regulatory frameworks to artisanal fishing, and the provision of adequate infrastructural and processing facilities.