**Abstract**

Fisheries constitute an important component of Nigeria's agriculture sector contributing meaningfully to the socio-economic development of the nation in terms of employment generation, source of high quality animal protein, and foreign exchange earnings. Despite its significance, fisheries like other agricultural-related activities are not without inherent occupational hazards. The aim of the authors was to review literature on the occupational health hazards associated with the Nigerian fisheries. This was done by specifically reviewing literatures on the linkages between occupational health and sustainable development, overview of occupational hazards, fisheries in Nigeria, and occupational hazards in fisheries with empirical evidences from Nigeria. Based on our review, it was concluded that fisheries like other components of agriculture is a very risky venture which can lead to severe injuries and eventual death if workers' health is not protected and promoted within the industry. It was recommended that occupational health and safety should be promoted within the different value chains of fisheries.

**Keywords:** aquaculture, fisheries, fish processing, occupational health, occupational hazard, sustainable development

## **1. Introduction**

Nigeria is an oil producing nation. Yet, the nation's economy strongly relies on the agriculture sector. In fact, the nation's economy was described as agrarian before and the first decade after independence. During these periods, the contribution of agriculture was noticed through self-sufficiency from the production of food crops by local farmers making use of crude implements; source of job opportunities especially to unskilled labour in rural areas; exportation of major cash crops such as groundnut, cocoa, kola, etc.; and most importantly meaningful contribution to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). Fisheries, which may be cultured (aquaculture) or captured from either fresh (rivers and lakes) or marine (seas and oceans) water, is one of the subsectors that have been contributing meaningfully to the social and economic development of individuals and the nation at large through agriculture as it serves as the primary means of livelihood to rural dwellers especially those in the riverine areas; and the major source of relatively cheap but quality animal protein in the diets of the people.

Working in the agricultural sector by rural farmers is associated with numerous occupational hazards which were categorized into seven by a combination of authors [1–4] as: (i) Climate: dehydration, heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and skin cancer; (ii) Snakes and insects: injurious bites and stings;

(iii) Tools and farm equipment: Injuries, cuts, and hearing impairment; (iv) Physical labour: musculoskeletal disorders, e.g. pain and fatigue; (v) Pesticides: poisonings, neurotoxicity, reproductive effects, and cancer; (vi) Dusts, fumes, gases, particulates: Irritation, respiratory tract, allergic reactions, respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and (vii) Biological agents and vectors of disease: Skin diseases, fungal infections, allergic reactions, malaria, schistosomiasis, sleeping sickness, leishmaniasis, ascariasis, and hookworm.

Work has both social and economic importance because work is done in any society primarily to produce and distribute goods and services that are needed by people in the society [5]. WHO [5] further explains that work plays a psychological role in the formation of self-esteem, a sense of order, and in the shaping of a person's self-identity. Work and sound health are highly and positively correlated in the sense that the more healthy a worker is, the more likely he is to work both effectively and efficiently while an ill-health per positively correlated in the sense that the more healthy a worker is, the more likely he is to work both effectively and efficiently while an ill-health person may likely work effectively and efficiently. Egbetokun [6] reported that a 1% improvement in farmers' health condition will lead to a 21 percent increase in work efficiency. On the other hand, poor farmers' health will reduce income, efficiency and productivity [7]. Hence, for one to work optimally, it is important to keep and maintain sound health especially at the workplace. Like every other work or means of survival and livelihood, the fisheries sector is not without some work-related hazards and risks. In fact, like other agriculture-related works, fisheries have been recognized as one of the riskiest work in the world [8, 9]. Injuries and illnesses are among the health-related factors limiting the productivity from fisheries. According to the Global Burden Disease [10], approximately 2.78 million deaths that occur annually are associated with work-related hazards. The World Health Organization also noted that between 20 and 50 per cents of workers; especially in developing countries like Nigeria are suffering from occupational risks [5].

In Nigeria, fisheries supply and its products come from two broad sources viz. – importation of fish and fisheries products, and local fish production. With the nation's increasing human population, most of whom are youths within the economically active age groups, the nation's expenditure on fish importation is too high enough to put tangible developmental projects to the nation. This is despite the natural resources which favour fisheries production from both aquaculture and wild capture sources. For the purpose of this chapter, the authors are interested in the domestic fish sources which come from aquaculture, artisanal fishing and industrial fishing. All these sources are with their unique work-related hazards which affect the health and general wellbeing of those who take part in them. As hazards can occur during the different stages of the fisheries value chain (production, processing, handling, storage and transportation), occupational hazards is treated in this chapter in totality as it affects all the value chain actors in the Nigerian fisheries sector.

The remaining of this chapter is structured under the preceding headings: overview of occupational hazards, classification of occupational hazards, fisheries in Nigeria, occupational hazards in fisheries, and empirical evidence of occupational hazards in fisheries in Nigeria.
