Public Perception of Mudskipper Consumption in Some Fishing Communities of Rivers State, Nigeria

This study is an attempt to evaluate public perception of mudskipper consumption, a delicacy in some fishing communities of Rivers State in Niger Delta area of Nigeria. One hundred and twenty structured questionnaires were randomly distributed in ten communities spread across three local governments. The results of the survey showed that consumption of mudskipper was more popular among the old people than the younger ones. A greater number of people 82.50% considered mudskipper as fish, 10% as nuisance, 4.17% as snake and 3.32% as pest. Also, 83.33% of the respondents were favorably disposed towards mudskipper 15.0% were negative and 1.67% were indifferent. The study revealed that there is no taboo in the consumption of mudskipper in these areas, any perceptions were observed personal to individual and not a communal affair.