Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Limited documentation exists on migrant fishermen, who are indigenous people and mostly Ghanaians fishing in the marine and inland water bodies. This study therefore aims to identify the causes, courses of fishermen migration as well as the demographic characteristics of migrant fishing households in the Nigerian South West coastal fishing communities using the neoclassical economic and network theories. Results reveal that they operate extended family system similar to what operates in their places of origin. The main cause of fishermen migrating from other West African countries to Nigeria is due to seasonal migration of commercial fish species and some of the migrants have permanently settled in the fishing communities. Logit model analysis shows that migrant fishermen are likely to be located in the west coast of Lagos State (p<0.01). Migrant fishermen have fishing as a primary source of income (p<0.05), are members of fishermen cooperatives (p<0.05) and are likely to be literate (p<0.10), but do not use family labour (p<0.05). Due to migration they are confronted with challenges such as declining fish stocks, attitude to management of common property resource, living communities which lack basic infrastructures and the prevalence of HIV/AIDS.

More information

Type

Conference paper

Publisher

International Migration Institute

Publication Date

18/09/2007