Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v3 - Senior Secondary 3

Materials and methods for harvesting fish

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Subject: Fisheries

Class: Senior Secondary 3

Term: 3rd Term

Week: 4

Theme: Fish Harvesting And Post-Harvesting Processes

Lesson Video

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Performance objectives

Lesson summary

identify variousfishing gearsused in harvesting. identify the various craftused in harvesting. state the variousmethodsinvolved in harvesting. construct and mend the fishing gears.

Lesson notes

Fish Harvesting And Post-Harvesting Processes valuable entrepreneurial skills. In rural and peri-urban areas, individuals with these skills can start small businesses providing gear repair services or constructing custom gears for fish farmers and fishers, thereby creating employment and supporting the local fishing industry. This aligns with government initiatives to promote vocational skills and self-reliance among youth.

8. Differentiation, Remediation and Extension

A. Differentiation: Visual Learners: Provide ample diagrams, videos, and actual samples of fishing gears and crafts. Use labelled posters.

Auditory Learners: Encourage group discussions, peer teaching, and detailed verbal explanations.

Kinesthetic Learners: Emphasise the practical demonstration of knot tying and net mending. Allow hands-on practice with twine and netting needles.

Group Work: Assign roles within groups to cater to different strengths (e.g., one student identifies gears, another describes methods, another draws).

B. Remediation (for struggling learners): Simplified Tasks: Focus on identifying only the most common gears and crafts in their local environment.

Paired Learning: Pair struggling learners with high-achieving peers for guided review and explanation.

Targeted Drills: Provide specific flashcards or matching exercises for identifying gears, crafts, and their uses.

Extra Visual Aids: Use simplified drawings or larger, clearer pictures of key concepts.

Re-demonstration: Provide one-on-one or small-group re-demonstrations of knot tying and mending techniques.

C. Extension (for high-achieving learners): Research Project: Assign a research project on the impact of specific fishing gears on marine biodiversity in Nigerian waters (e.g., by-catch issues with trawls, ghost fishing with gill nets).

Innovative Design: Challenge students to design a new, sustainable fishing gear or a modification to an existing one that addresses a specific environmental concern or increases efficiency for a particular target species in Nigeria. They could sketch their design and explain its features.

Advanced Knot Tying: Introduce more complex knots used in fisheries (e.g., clove hitch, bowline) and their specific applications. * Economic Analysis: Task them with analysing the economic viability of different fishing methods for artisanal fishers in a specific Nigerian community, considering costs of gear, fuel, and potential catch value. species like Sardines and Mackerel in marine waters, usually by larger vessels.

Trawl Nets: Description: Large, cone-shaped net towed through the water by one or more boats (trawlers) to catch fish.

Types: Bottom trawls (for demersal fish like sole, croaker) and midwater trawls (for pelagic fish).

Application: Primarily used in marine commercial fisheries, less common in inland artisanal fishing due to the need for powerful boats. Often criticised for by-catch and habitat destruction if not properly managed.

Lift Nets: Description: Flat or bag-shaped nets lowered into the water and then quickly lifted, often with the aid of lights to attract fish.

Application: Small scale, sometimes used from platforms or canoes.

2. Traps: Enclosures designed to capture fish alive by luring them in and preventing their escape. Pot Traps (e.g., Lobster pots, Crab pots): Description: Rigid structures made of wire mesh, wood, or plastic, often baited. They have one-way entrances.

Application: Used for crabs, lobsters, and sometimes fish in coastal and brackish waters. Basket Traps (e.g., 'Akenke', 'Igun' in local Nigerian dialects): Description: Traditionally woven from local materials like bamboo, raffia palm, or reeds. They are funnel-shaped or cylindrical with a narrow opening.

Application: Very common in Nigerian inland waters (rivers, streams, swamps) for catching various fish, eels, and crustaceans. They are usually baited and left submerged for a period.

Fyke Nets: Description: Cylindrical nets with a series of funnel-shaped throats and wings or leaders to guide fish into the trap.

Application: Used in shallow waters for eels, catfish, and other bottom-dwelling fish.

3. Hooks and Lines: Handlines: Description: Simple fishing line with one or more hooks, held by hand.

Application: Common for recreational fishing and small-scale artisanal fishing from canoes or shore.

Longlines: Description: A long main line with numerous shorter branch lines, each carrying a baited hook.

Application: Can be set near the surface (pelagic longline) for tuna, swordfish, or on the bottom (demersal longline) for cod, halibut. Used in both marine and large inland fisheries.

Pole and Line: Description: A fishing rod (pole) with a line and hook.

Application: Used for small-scale and recreational fishing.

4. Wounding Gear: Gears that physically wound and capture fish.

Spears/Harpoons: Description: Sharp, pointed instruments used to stab fish. Harpoons are larger and often have a barb and line attached.

Application: Traditional method, often used in shallow waters, for large fish or during specific seasons (e.g., dry season when fish are concentrated). B. Fishing Crafts Fishing crafts are the vessels or boats used to transport fishers and their gear to fishing grounds and back.

1. Canoes: Dugout Canoes: Description: Traditional canoes carved from a single tree trunk. They are stable but often heavy.

Propulsion: Paddles, sometimes small outboard engines.

Application: Extremely common in Nigerian inland waters (rivers, lagoons, creeks) for artisanal fishing, transportation, and fish farming activities.

Planked Canoes: Description: Constructed from wooden planks, typically larger and more versatile than dugouts.

Propulsion: Paddles, sails, or increasingly, outboard engines (e.g., 15-40 HP).

Application: Used in coastal areas and larger rivers, capable of carrying more gear and catch, and sometimes venturing further offshore.

2. Boats: Generally larger and more sophisticated than canoes, often engine-powered.

Wooden Boats: Description: Built from planks, varying in size from medium to large.

Propulsion: Powerful inboard or outboard engines.

Application: Used for commercial fishing, transporting ice and catch, and operating larger gears like seine nets or gillnets in coastal and offshore waters.

Fiberglass Boats: Description: Modern boats made from fiberglass composite materials, offering durability, lighter weight, and easier maintenance compared to wooden boats.

Propulsion: Outboard or inboard engines.

Application: Increasingly used by commercial and semi-commercial fishers in Nigeria due to their advantages.

Trawlers: Description: Large, specialized fishing vessels designed to tow trawl nets. They are often equipped with advanced navigation and fish-finding equipment.

Application:* Used exclusively for industrial-scale marine fisheries, often with onboard processing and freezing capabilities. Less common for local Nigerian ownership in artisanal sector. waters.

Fiberglass Boats: Description: Modern boats made from fiberglass composite materials, offering durability, lighter weight, and easier maintenance compared to wooden boats.

Propulsion: Outboard or inboard engines.

Application: Increasingly used by commercial and semi-commercial fishers in Nigeria due to their advantages.

Trawlers: Description: Large, specialized fishing vessels designed to tow trawl nets. They are often equipped with advanced navigation and fish-finding equipment.

Application: Used exclusively for industrial-scale marine fisheries, often with onboard processing and freezing capabilities. Less common for local Nigerian ownership in artisanal sector. C. Methods of Harvesting These are the techniques or strategies employed to catch fish using the various gears and crafts.

1. Net Fishing: Active Netting: Involves actively moving the net through the water to encircle or scoop fish. Examples include seining (purse seining, beach seining) and trawling.

Passive Netting: Involves setting the net and waiting for fish to encounter it. Examples include gillnetting and entangling nets.

Lift Netting: Lowering a net and quickly lifting it when fish are present above it.

2. Trap Fishing: Involves placing baited or unbaited traps in fishing grounds and allowing fish to enter voluntarily. Traps are then retrieved after a certain period. This method often targets specific species and can result in live catch.

3. Hook and Line Fishing: Involves luring fish with baited hooks. This can be done by hand (handlining), with multiple hooks on a long main line (longlining), or with a pole (angling).

4. Wounding/Gathering Methods: Spearing/Harpooning: Direct physical capture of fish using sharp tools.

Hand Picking/Scooping: Collecting fish directly by hand, especially common in shallow water bodies or during dewatering activities in ponds or rivers (e.g., during the dry season when water recedes).

Dewatering/Draining: Lowering the water level in ponds or small creeks to concentrate fish, making them easier to catch by hand or small nets/baskets.

5. Illegal/Harmful Methods (to be discussed with emphasis on their detrimental effects): Poisoning (e.g., Gammalin 20, pesticides, local plant extracts like Tephrosia vogelii): Highly destructive, kills all aquatic life indiscriminately, makes fish unsafe for consumption. Illegal in Nigeria. Explosives (e.g., dynamites): Causes widespread destruction of fish and habitats, extremely dangerous to operators. Illegal in Nigeria.

Electro-fishing (using electric currents): Stuns or kills fish, often non-selectively. Requires specialized equipment and is generally illegal for unregulated use in Nigeria. D. Constructing and Mending Fishing Gears Practical skills in gear construction and repair are essential for fishers, reducing costs and ensuring operational readiness.

1. Basic Net Construction (Conceptual for a simple net like a cast net segment or small gillnet): Material Selection: Choosing the right twine (nylon monofilament or multifilament) for desired strength and visibility. Selecting appropriate mesh size, float material (e.g., plastic, cork), and sinker material (e.g., lead, ceramic).

Netting Tools: Use of a netting needle (shuttle) and a mesh gauge (sizing stick) to ensure consistent mesh size.

Knotting: The fundamental skill involves tying the sheet bend or square knot to form meshes. Starting from a headline, meshes are systematically knotted to form the net panel.

Mounting: Attaching the net panel to a float line and a lead (sinker) line using specific knots (e.g., hangman's knot) to give the net its proper shape and deployment characteristics.

2. Mending Fishing Nets: Identification of Damage: Locating tears, holes, or broken meshes in the net.

Tools: Netting needle, appropriate twine matching the net material.

Technique: Cut out severely damaged sections, creating a square or rectangular opening. Start rebuilding the net by tying new meshes from one corner of the opening using the netting needle and twine. Use the sheet bend or a similar strong, non-slipping knot to connect new meshes to the existing net structure, following the original mesh pattern. Gradually fill the hole by adding rows of meshes until the tear is fully repaired and the net's integrity is restored.

Demonstration: The teacher should demonstrate common netting knots (e.g., sheet bend, reef knot) and basic steps of patching a small tear.

3. Teaching and Learning Activities Teacher Activities:

1. Introduction (10 minutes): * Begin by engaging

Teacher activity

Evaluation guide

Reference guide