Governor Paul: A FIELD TRIP REPORT

A FIELD TRIP REPORT

LED BY DR. B.E. EMMANUEL

Department of Marine Sciences

University of Lagos, Nigeria.

The field trip commenced at about 6:20 pm on the 5^th of June 2013, on arrival at the Lagos lagoon Jetty, we tried to loose the tangled net that was meant to be used for fishing. The net is set in the evening and hauled the next morning to collect the entangled fish. Matthew, Paul and Abdul Ismail volunteered to help in loosing of the rope then the girls Tairat, Zainab and Bola also join them. The essence of loosing the tangled net is to make it easier when setting it in the water. It is usually set across the river, or transverse to the path of migrating fish, so that when a fish tries to swim through the net wall, it gets entangled in the mesh. This net is made of float (a Dunlop slippers material), a sinker and a buoy; it is made to fit the desired target species.

An entangled net.

Then after we were meant to understand that there are two various colors of net, which are the green and the grey net. The green net attract more fish than the red.

Before the boat was let into the water, the lead lecturer Dr. Emmanuel ordered one of the students to open the valve of the rear base of the boat to enable water into the boat for buoyancy, to prevent boat from capsizing.

After the loosing of the net, at about 6:35pm, the boat was pushed into the water with the help of a bamboo stick placed underneath to enable it move into the water easily, at which seven students joined aboard including the lecturer. According to the student that went on board on getting to the under of the Lagos third main land bridge, they flung the net into the water and tied it to sticks to avoid it from becoming a ghost net.

The next day (6th of June 2013)

As at 6:15am,when we the third year students of the Department of Marine sciences, University of Lagos were already assembled at Lagos lagoon Jetty alongside with our lecture Dr. Emmanuel. Some students also went aboard and collected the fishes which is caught in the net twine behind the operculum, or have been caught between the head and the body.

The essence of coming very early the next day to check on the fish is to avoid them being eaten by crabs. It was even noticed that some of the fish have been eaten by crabs. fishes caught mainly consist of Grunters and Tilapias.