Background Existing scholarly works have paid little or no attention to the problems small-scale fisheries encounter within the context of food and nutritional security. Therefore, this work has examined the problem. Small-scale fisheries (SSF) are the dominant source of local fish production in Nigeria and, like many fisheries worldwide, receive inadequate attention for their significance within the context of food and nutritional security. A central theme to guaranteeing small-scale fisheries’ contribution to sustainable food and nutritional security in Nigeria is addressing post-harvest losses (PHL). Considerable fish loss occurs between production and consumption. A narrative review was conducted to expose PHL practiced by SSF and discuss factors that prevent the adoption of locally available interventions. Finding Our study revealed that sun-drying and smoking are the major interventions practiced to mitigate PHL. Unfortunately, these methods of reducing PHL are constrained by gross under-capacity and improper handling during peak fishing periods and issues related to product safety. There are a handful of potential intervention mechanisms to address issues of PHL. Many of these PHL-reducing interventions have been designed bearing in mind local contexts and situations. However, general inertia and poor policy implementation currently hamper progress for reducing PHL. Conclusion A plethora of strategies are proposed to reduce PHL from SSF as contained in national and regional documents such as the National Policy on Food and Nutrition (NPFN), National Policy on Food and Nutrition in Nigeria (NPFNN), National Energy Policy (NEP), and Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). Recommendations are offered on identified gaps in areas of technological adoption, safety, and product quality issues, which are detrimental to traditional fish processing systems.

The Gorean snapper, Lutjanus goreensis is an important component of artisanal fisheries and trawl landings in the Gulf of Guinea. Despite its economic importance, there is a dearth of information on size structure and life history strategies of the species. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to provide baseline data on the life stages, exploitation status and habitat use for the species in Nigeria. Monthly samples were obtained from artisanal and trawl catches in Five Cowrie Creek and Lagos coastal waters between December 2008 and December 2010, respectively. Length-frequency distributions of the fishes caught were analysed to provide preliminary information on mean and modal lengths at capture and life - history strategies based on habitat use and estuarine-dependency for L. goreensis. A total of 822 specimens of L. goreensis were collected from Five Cowrie Creek, while 377 specimens were collected from Lagos coastal waters. Total length varied between 7.90-34.90cm for estuarine samples and from 21.90-56.10cm for marine samples. Length-frequency histograms showed polymodal size distributions in estuarine and marine samples. Length-frequency distributions of L. goreensis showed a high abundance of juveniles (<20cm) and sub-adults (20-35cm) which accounted for 84.1% and 68.4% of estuarine and marine samples examined, respectively. For the estuarine samples, fish in modal length class of 13.00-13.99cm were the most exploited while in marine samples, length classes of 29.00-30.99cm and 31.00-32.99cm constituted the most frequently exploited fishes. Increase in total lengths from the creek (mean±SD; 16.19±3.73cm) to the marine habitat (32.89±6.14cm) indicated ontogenetic shift in habitat use. Occurrence of a predominant juvenile population in Five Cowrie Creek by L. goreensis suggests estuarine-dependency and is indicative of a temporary juvenile habitat or a migratory corridor. In conclusions, data from the presently reported study and previous studies demonstrated that juvenile L. goreensis displays estuarine dependency and habitat flexibility. Hence, this underscores the importance of preserving estuarine environments as essential fish habitats to prevent overfishing. The study also concludes that the species is vulnerable to recruitment overfishing in the marine environment especially as a consequence of shrimping. Consequently, it advocates for ban on all fishing activities during peak spawning periods in breeding grounds and shrimp ground assemblage.