FOOD FEEDING #BITS OF THE E C W I C SPECIES OF FISH

Studies on t h e food and feeding habits of econwic species of f i s h in Laguna de Bay was undertaken as a part of the long range prograrr~e of fisheries limnologicsl invsotigati?ns of the lake. This was undertaken to determine the kinds of food or-ganisms ut i l i zed by the f i shes in the area. The freshwater perch, Therapon pZumbeu8 (her) , the white goby, GZosaogobius giU.Puo (Ham11 ton-EucMnan) , and the freshwater catfish, R r k s sp. were the subject of the study. A total o f 1097 specimens were examfned for sromach contents. There were 449 a£. gerC,h, 323 of white goby, and, 283-af catf l eh. The frequency qf ogFurrencc, nuber and volume,of:he food items were determbed. h $ ~ ~ $ s i b r i of the redult ~ f d l l o w. A study on the food and feeding habits ~f fish in hguna de Bay was undertaken a t the Freshvarer Fisheries Investigations Unit, Los bwa, Laguna. The study is a part a £ the overall prograonme of fhheries 1-10-gical investigations of the lake. The results of thfs study show the utill-zatlon of f o o d organisms in the lake by t h e fishes found in the area. The study w a s, therefore, conducted to obtafn knowledge on tha food and feeding habits of t h e major f i s h stocks in the lake and their relation t a the overall productivity of Lsguna de Bay. Such information is of paramount value t o fisheries management. The species stud1 ed were t he perch, Therapon phmbeus (Rner), loca l ly known as ayungin; the white goby, GZossqobhs giumrs (12arailton-Buchanan), l o c a l l y known as biya; and the freshwater catfish, Arius sp., local ly known as kandulf. The f irst two a te the most dominant. The cat f i sh f i s h e r y a t, present is on the verge of depletion