Fish Standing Stock and Catch from Coral Reefs in Three Regions of the Philippines
Keywords:
coral reef fish, coral reef ecosystem goods and services, fish standing stock, fish catch, Ticao Island, Apo Island, Pujada Bay, PhilippinesAbstract
Coral reefs depicting ‘fair’ and ‘poor’ coral reef conditions were surveyed at each of three study sites in Regions V (Ticao I., Masbate), VII (Negros Oriental), and XI (Davao Oriental) in 2013 to compare fish standing stock and catch. Reef condition was determined using LIT while fish standing stock was measured using FVC. Fish catches were quantified by random monitoring at selected landing sites done by hired enumerators using Roving Creel Survey from April to December 2013. Results of this study showedpositive linear relationship between live hard coral cover with fish density and biomass but not species richness. No relationship was observed between reef rugosity and fish parameters. Overall, the site Chapel Pt. in Apo I., Negros Oriental was found to have the highest % coral cover (58.93 + 7.21) and was the most rugose (1.45 + 0.07) of all coral reefs assessed. As expected, this site also ranked the highest in terms of fish species richness (H’ = 7.54), fish density (n = 465 + 67), fish biomass (3.84 + 0.68 kg 500 m-2), and catch per unit effort (CPUE) (3.41 + 1.02 kg manhr-1). Meanwhile, Bantayan Marine Sanctuary, also in
Negros Oriental, had the lowest % coral cover (20 + 9.86) and generally low CPUE (0.08 + 0.04 to 1.04 + 0.14 kg manhr-1
) but had high species richness (H’ = 6.26) and was moderately productive (1.83 + 0.36 kg 500 m-2). Baladingan reef in Monreal, Ticao I. was the least rugose and ranked amongst the lowest in terms of overall productivity (1.65 + 0.68 kg 500 m-2) despite having high fish diversity (H’ = 7.54) and generally high CPUE (0.75 to 1.38 + 0.70 kg manhr-1). Some of the commonly
caught fishes recorded in catch data came from families that were not observed during FVC (e.g., Carangidae, Scombridae, Lutjanidae), making it difficult to infer direct relationships of coral reef condition and catch. These differences may be due to lack of FVC replicates that might show seasonal patterns and because fishing grounds were not necessarily adjacent to the LIT and FVC sites.
