Market Fish Resources in Magallanes, Sorsogon, Philippines

Since the 1930s, a number of fish taxa have been recorded from the marine waters of Magallanes in Sorsogon, Philippines. However, it has only in 1995 that the checklist was properly updated, in which the number of recorded species plummeted but has yet to reach a plateau. While the actual field surveys on natural habitats are a common approach to obtaining fish records, market surveys are also proven equally aidful. Here, we present an updated checklist of all named species of fish vended in Magallanes markets – including their local name, origin, and temporal availability. Sourced from Sorsogon Bay and Ticao-Burias Pass, a total of 77 species were identified. Thirteen species set new records for Sorsogon Bay. The Ticao-Burias Pass was the exclusive source of 11 taxa. A total of 61 species were sourced from either site. The current list of marketed fish from Magallanes represents 20% with that of the entire fish records reported from Sorsogon Bay. The fish species composition varied both in terms of origin and seasonal availability. Comparison of the present list of commercial fish in Magallanes against other records elsewhere in the Philippines may not be possible at the present, as previous studies indicated different sampling efforts, wider area coverage, and longer cumulative observation period. Return efforts and further market survey studies are expected to augment the current number of recorded fish taxa. Our present study makes recommendations for the continued use of market surveys to help update and verify records of fish diversity in a given area.