Microbial Load in Five Demersal Marine Fin and Shell Fishes from Nigerian Coastal Waters

This study was conducted to assess the microbial load in five demersal species from the Nigerian coastal water (FAO, Area 34) with the aim of determining the bio-integrity of these species; Parapenaeopsis atlantica, Penaeus monodon, Penaeus notialis, Portunus validus and Cynoglossus browni. Five hundred and six (506) specimens in all were sampled from 32 fishing trawlers owned by Olokun Pisces Limited (Lat N 60 28ˡ 24ˡˡ, Long E 30 22ˡ 50ˡˡ). Microbiological analysis showed that total plate count (TPC) was observed to be similarly contained in all the fishes under consideration. TPC, Staphylococcus aureus, Yeast and Mould contained in the five species were not statistically significantly different from one another (P<0.05). amongst other species studied, C. browni had the highest TPC at 300C to range from 5.7×102 – TNTC cfu/g and 2.0×102 – TNTC (too numerous to count) for Yeast and Mould. The corresponding values for other species were within acceptable limit by FAO/WHO standard, which implies that batch of C. browni was not safe for consumption. The Most Probable Number (MPN) for the demersal species had values < 3cfu/g while the Coliform values for all the species was <10 cfu/g. Escherichia coli, Vibrio cholera, Salmonella spp, Shighellaspp, Streptococcus faecalis, Listeria monocytogenes, Clostridium botulinumand Vibrio parahaemolyticus were analyzed but were not detected (ND).