Quality Assessment Of Water, Nutritional Fitness And Parasitiic Status Of Three Selected Fish Species In Ero Dam, Nigeria

Abstract

Ero Dam has been noticed to exposed to several abuse from human activities and various preliminary studies implicating the river to be polluted has been established judging from the water quality data. However, there is need to continuously assess the quality evaluation of the dam. Therefore, this research is aimed at evaluating the impacts of human activities on some qualitative attributes of the dam using standard laboratory procedures. The physico-chemical attributes of the dam water established that most of the parameters were statistically higher (p<0.05) than the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency’s specification for maximum limits allowed for discharge into surface water for all categories of industries. The concentrations of metals in the whole body mass of the three sampled fish species (Oreochromis niloticus, Tilapia mosambis and Clarias gariepinus) were higher than their values in water. The proximate composition of the body muscle of the three fish species analyzed proofed the fishes to be nutritionally suitable for consumption but the additive effects of the metals in the water samples should be a point of concern to public health. The three Fish species studied were heavily parasitized, with high parasitic prevalence and intensity probably as a result of presence of pollutants in Ero Dam. The polluted water also reduced the parasite species diversity in the three fish species studied. Conclusively, indiscriminate abuse of Ero Dam impaired the quality of water and reduced the diversity and abundance of fishes in the river.