SPATIAL-DISTRIBUTION PATTERN OF FISH LARVAE IN THE EAST COAST OFF PULAU PAYAR MARINE PARK, KEDAH, MALAYSIA

Abstract

A study on larval fish had been done in the 1970s and more papers have been published since then. They give important information to biologists and fisheries management, for instance, spawning location, habitat requirement, eating behaviour and recruitment patterns. To that end, the spatial-distribution pattern of fish larvae in the west coast ofPulau Payar Marine Park, Kedah, Malaysia, was examined for four months, from August to November 1999. Samples were taken using bongo net with 0.5 mm mesh size 150 to 300m offshore (Site A) and one nautical mile ofeast coast off Pulau Payar Marine Park (Site B), using the oblique technique. A total number of 1 971 larval fish were caught, representing 18 families. Total densities did not show significant differences between Site A and Site B, that is 108.58 and 11.67 ind./m3, respectively. The three most dominant families for both Site A and B were Apogonidae, Clupeidae and Gobiidae.