Evaluation of Inland Fisheries Co-Management Effectiveness in the Benue River Basin, Benue State

Co-management arrangements involving government agencies and fishing communities have been proposed as the optimal governance model for inland fisheries in sub-Saharan Africa, but evidence of their effectiveness in specific Nigerian river basin contexts remains limited. This study evaluates the effectiveness of existing co-management arrangements for the Benue River artisanal fishery in Benue State, North Central Nigeria. The evaluation framework covered five dimensions: participation quality, rule compliance, conflict resolution, resource condition monitoring, and institutional sustainability. Data were collected through interviews with 30 community fish committee members, 15 government fisheries officers, and 100 artisanal fishers, complemented by review of co-management agreement documents and government monitoring reports covering the previous four years. Results showed significant variation in co-management effectiveness across six formally documented community fisheries committees. Three committees were functionally active with regular meetings and documented compliance monitoring, while three were dormant or non-functional. Resource condition monitoring was absent in all but one committee. Compliance with agreed fishing rules was higher in communities where committee leaders had received formal fisheries training. Government support for committee operations had declined in the three years preceding the study, undermining institutional sustainability. The study recommends a redesigned co-management framework for the Benue River fishery that includes mandatory government technical support, standardised monitoring protocols, and formal recognition of community fishing rights under Benue State fisheries law.

Keywords: co-management, inland fisheries, Benue River, governance, community committees