Assessment of water quality of selected rivers in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria using biomarkers in Clarias gariepinus.

Petroleum exploration has continued to impact negatively the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Oil spills from petroleum exploration contaminate both the aquatic and non- aquatic environments and destroy the ecosystem which makes people in these regions to be prone to diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disease, infertility, and sterility and also poverty. Some oxidative stress markers of the liver and muscle of fish (Clarias gariepinus) from Apata, Araromi, and Mahin rivers (located in the Niger Delta region) were compared with those of fish samples from a clean fish farm (control) in order to assess the level of pollution of the rivers.