Age, Growth and Mortality of Some Commercially Important Fish Species in Gbedikere Lake, Kogi State, Nigeria

Age, growth and mortality of some commercially important fish species collected from an Ox bow lake on the tributary of River Benue were studied between October 2006 and September 2008. Samples of the fish species were obtained from the artisanal fishers from the common landing site along the lake. Age was determined from Bhattacharya's length frequency assortment method. All the fishes were caught through out the year but were numerically abundant during the high water period. Growth was found to be allometric among the species studied conforming to the growth factor W = aL^b. Five age groups were observed while averaged instantaneous total mortality for the species was 0.48/year and an exploitation rate of 0.41 while the longevity was 8 years.