Assessment of the Fisheries of Siganus fuscescens and Selar crumenophthalmus in Looc and Lubang, Occidental Mindoro

It is distributed in the Indo-Malayan region, from the Andaman Islands eastward to New Caledonia, and is common on coral reefs, around rock reefs, and in harbors. The species is fished with a wide range of gear types, including small-meshed seine nets, set gill nets, fish corrals, and spear. The size distribution of S. fuscescens caught by panamaral in Looc and Lubang, Occidental Mindoro, shows that the sizes of caught fish ranged from 7.5 to 19.5 cm SL. Estimates of lengths at first maturity (Lm50) from other studies in the Philippines are also indicated in the figure. A total of 1342 individuals were measured, and their size frequency distribution in catches from panamaral is shown in Figure xx. Gonad development stages and maturation curve of S. fuscescens are also presented. The distribution of gonad development stages by size class in S. fuscescens is shown in Fig. xx. Of 264 specimens, only 9 were mature, while 11 were developing. The smallest mature specimen measured is 10.9 cm SL, and the largest is 14.1 cm SL. The maturity ogive for the present study (Fig. xx) shows the size at first maturity (Lm50) in the study area is 16.4 cm SL. The growth curve of S. fuscescens used in estimating the ages of mature specimens is shown in Figure xx. Parameters of the VBGM are based on information from Ayungon, Negros Or. (Campos et al., 2017) (L = 25.0cm SL; K = 0.85 yr-1). Based on the constructed growth curve, the corresponding age of the estimated Lm50 (16.4cm SL) of S. fuscescens in Looc and Lubang, Occidental Mindoro is about 15 months, while the smallest mature fish (10.9 cm SL) observed in this study had a corresponding age of about 8 months. The estimated Spawning Potential Ratio (SPR) of S. fuscescens caught in the fishery in Looc and Lubang, Occidental Mindoro is shown in Table xx. At present, SPR of the stock based on the 3-month monitoring data is 6.0% only. This is because the fishery is catching too many immature individuals (97%). In order to increase the spawning potential to the recommended value of 20% and 30%, the Lc or the length at first capture should be set between 13.07-14.04 cm SL. Based on the results of the 3-month monitoring, the following are recommended: For panamaral (Drive-in triple net) targeting S. fuscescens, additional layers of nets cause too many small fish to get caught. Removing these layers but maintaining the legal mesh size (3 cm) should reduce the proportions of juveniles caught. This may allow enough individuals to spawn before capture and increase the SPR of the stock to 20-30%. Fish buyers should also be informed with the above recommendations. Buyers should be instructed to buy S. fuscescens that are equal or greater than the presented size limit. Fishers will be discouraged to catch smaller individuals if they know that buyers will not buy smaller or less than the recommended size limit. Selar crumenophthalmus, also known as the big-eyed scad, is a species of fish found in small to large schools, mainly inshore or in shallow water. It is circumtropical, ranging from Indo-Pacific (East Africa to Rapa, north and southern Japan and the Hawaiian Islands, south to New Caledonia), Eastern Pacific (Mexico to Peru, including Galapagos Islands), Western Atlantic (Nova Scotia, Canada and Bermuda through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean to Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Eastern Atlantic (Cape Verde to southern Angola). The species is mainly nocturnal, with groups or schools dispersing at night to feed inshore on small shrimps, benthic invertebrates and forams or offshore on zooplankton and fish larvae. The size distribution of S. crumenophthalmus caught in Looc and Lubang, Occidental Mindoro during the sampling period (August 21-November 21, 2017) is shown in figure xx. A total of 569 fish individuals were measured within the 3-month monitoring period. Five (5) gears targeted S. crumenophthalmus, namely Pamusit (Drive in Triple net), Panamaral (Drive in Triple Net), Barangay (Multiple Hook and Line), Lambat/Jamper (Gill Net) and Brgy Kaw