Abstract
The study examined perceived effects of sand dredging activities on livelihood diversification of artisanal fisher folks in Lagos State, Nigeria. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to select respondents for the study. Purposively, Eti-Osa, Ibeju-Lekki, Epe and Ikorodu local Government Areas (LGAs) were selected for intensive dredging activities. Registered artisanal fishermen in these LGAs were 310, 350, 380 and 320, respectively. Twenty percent of the population in each LGAs were selected using simple random sampling technique to arrive at 272 respondents interviewed for the study. An interview schedule guide was used to elicit information on respondents’ socio-economic characteristics, knowledge, livelihood diversification and perception of the sand dredging effect on fishing activities. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and independent sample t-test. The mean age of fisher folks was 37 ± 8 years, 92.1 % of them were males, 81.4 % were married and had households’ size ranging from 1 to 16 persons. Over 50 % of the respondents had no formal education. Monthly income of fisher folks in the study area ranged from ₦5, 000 to ₦60, 000 with a mean income of ₦22, 892 ± 13,564 and majority (92.9 %)were members of a social group. Respondents diversified most into off-farm activities such as commercial bike riding, security and technician services. Slightly above half (55.7 %) perceived sand dredging as having a negative effect on fishing activities. Results on inferential statistic revealed that a significant relationship existed between knowledge of sand dredging effect on fishing activities (r = 0.35), monthly income (r = −0.181) and social group (χ2 = 2.886) and perceived effects of sand dredging on fishing activities. Deliberate policy drive to mitigate sand dredging practices is required to forestall the negative effect on livelihood diversification of the artisanal fisher folks. Consequently, the artisanal fishery contribution to total Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment generation and total domestic fish production will be enhanced.