Length-weight relationship of marine fishes from Palawan, Philippines

Benjamin  J. Gonzales,; Honorio  B. Pagliawan,; Bernaldo   S. Montaño,; George  T. Cacho,; Herminie  P. Palla,; Edwin  F. Rodriguez,; Carey  Bonnell,; Tom  Fowler,

Length-weight relationship of marine fishes from Palawan, Philippines

Abstract:

The parameters of the length-weight relationships (LWR) of fishes are the primary variables applied to estimate the biomass of reef fishes in situ. Estimates of reef fish biomass using fish visual census survey in the Philippines still utilized the values of LWR parameters derived from the results of studies conducted abroad due to paucity of local information. This paper presents the first comprehensive records of the LWR of marine fishes from the West Philippine Sea and the Sulu Sea, western Philippines. Data were collected between 1998 and 2014 using various artisanal and commercial fishing gears. A total of 11,539 specimens covering 33 families, 59 genera and 87 species were investigated. The allometric coefficient b varied between 2.140 (Gnathanodon speciosus) and 3.410 (Taeniura lymma) with the mean of 2.840±0.25. The values of r 2 ranged from 0.521 to 0.996. This paper provides the first comprehensive information on the LWR of marine fishes from the western Philippines consisting of 15 new LWR values and 12 higher maximum lengths for online database.