Composition and Species Diversity of Fish Fauna in Kuching Wetland National Park

This study was conducted to determine the composition and species diversity of fish fauna at Kuching Wetland National Park. Five sampling stations were randomly chosen in the study area which consists of mangrove and estuarine area. Two type of fishing methods that been used were gill nets and cast nets. Thirty nine species of fish belonging to 37 genera and 30 families were recorded from the sampling sites. From the 490 individuals caught, the dominant fish species were Ambassidac and Leiognathidae comprising 32% and 20% respectively. The common species that had been caught were from the families Ariidae (6%), Tetraodontidae (6%), Mugilidae (5%) and Hemiramphidae (4%). Juvenile fishes were the most abundant in the study sites which consist of marine migrant and estuarine species. The presence of a large number of small juvenile individual in Kuching Wetland National Park area showed the importance of mangrove and estuarine area for breeding and nursery ground, as well as refuge and feeding area for many variety of fish species