Data on the length-weight relationship of 161 species of commercially important coral reef fishes in Tawi-Tawi islands, Southern Philippines

Abstract

This article contains the data on the Length-weight relationship (LWR) parameters play a crucial role in fisheries management, particularly in fish stock monitoring methods like fish visual census, where biomass estimation relies on the measurement of individual fish lengths in situ. Localized LWR parameters provide more accurate assessments of local fish stocks due to the influence of environmental conditions, which vary across different locations. In this study, we present the LWR parameters for 161 species belonging to 60 genera and 21 families of commercially important coral reef-associated fishes found in the waters surrounding the Tawi-Tawi islands in Southern Philippines. Among the families with at least 10 species recorded were the Serranidae or groupers (24 species), Lutjanidae or snappers (17 species), Nemipteridae or coral breams (14 species), Acanthuridae or surgeonfishes (12 species), Carangidae or jacks (12 species), Scaridae or parrotfishes (12 species), and Siganidae or rabbitfishes (10 species). Approximately 30% or 48 species exhibited a negative allometric growth pattern (b < 3), indicating that these species tend to become more slender as they increase in length. Conversely, around 14% or 23 species displayed a positive growth type (b > 3), where the fish becomes heavier as they increase in length. The majority of the species, accounting for 56% or 90 species, demonstrated an isometric growth pattern (b = 3), where the growth rate for weight and length is proportional. The LWR analysis yielded a coefficient of determination (r2) with an average value of 0.9553, indicating highly significant relationships between length and weight for all species studied (P < 0.001). Furthermore, this study unveiled new total length records for 27 species. Additionally, 73 species represent the first LWR records for marine fishes in the Philippines.