Cold weather, high sea waves hamper crayfish catches - Fishermen

As crayfish sellers and buyers decry the scarcity and high cost of the commodity, some fishermen have blamed the scarcity on cold weather and high sea waves which have hampered crayfish catches.

The fishermen made the observation in telephone interviews with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.

Some of them, who spoke on phone from Oron Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom, said that they were afraid of going to the high seas because of high ocean waves.

NAN reports that most of the crayfish found in markets across the country were from Akwa Ibom, Rivers and Bayelsa states.

Mr Nyong Nyong, a fisherman who deals in crayfish, said that cold weather habitually affected the production and growth rates of crayfish.

“From my many years’ experience in the fishing business, once the water temperatures go below certain degrees, crayfish becomes less active and will not feed well or move around as well,’’ he said.

According to Nyong, an important factor in fishery is that a fisherman’s success in catching crayfish or any other fish species largely depends on his understanding of how weather conditions affect the fishing process.

He said that the prevailing weather and sea conditions explained the reason why crayfish was always scarce during the rainy season because of cold weather or high sea waves.

Mr Efiong Essang, another fisherman, said the current weather conditions had also affected crayfish movements in rivers.

“It takes time for crayfish to move out of its habitation whenever the water is cold.

“It is also difficult for the fishermen to engage in deepsea fishing because of sea storms which could cause boat mishaps.

“This explains why during certain periods, we experience scarcity of sea foods, not only crayfish but also other fish species,’’ he said.