Fish Ruler: A Tool To Catch More Fish In The Future
One of the many ways to help ensure the supply of fish is to avoid catching them at immature stage. But in these times when fish caught from the sea are getting smaller in size and quantity; how would you advise a fisherman not to catch those baby fish? Or as a consumer, how would you know if the fish you have just bought from the market were supposed to be harvested or not.
To answer these, Fishworld Center whose office in the Philippines is based in Los Banos, Laguna has suggested the use of fish ruler, a simple tool designed for advanced fisheries management.
Fish ruler helps fishermen measure the minimum length of fish ready for harvest. It can also be used to educate them to determine the minimum mesh size for their nets.
Fishworld Center said that fish ruler highlights the importance of allowing fishes to grow to adulthood and reproduce before they are caught. As with humans, there is a time in the lives of fishes when they reach the age of settling and having babies. This period is called spawning. At this stage, fishes have grown to a certain length called “length at first maturity.” This length varies for different species of fish. Fishes that are shorter than this have not yet spawned because they are not yet mature enough to do so.
By using the fish ruler as a reference, fishermen can be aware that they are catching only fish that are within the length at first maturity. It can also be useful as a guide when buying fish in the market.
Using the fish ruler is so easy. This ruler is made from plastic so it is flexible and sturdy, easily rolls in the pocket, and can be conveniently carried anywhere. It has printed pictures of the most common commercial species of fish and their corresponding minimum length at first maturity.
For instance, big-eyed scad or matangbaka should not be caught if it is shorter than 14 centimeters. On the other hand, galunggong should not be caught if it is shorter than 17 cm, the hasa-hasa not shorter than 15.5 cm, and the alumahan not shorter than 17.5 cm.
Officially introduced in the country early this year, Fishworld Center has developed the fish ruler under the INCOFISH project funded by the European Union and participated by 35 institutions and private enterprises from 22 countries worldwide. In the Philippines, it partners with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute of the Department of Agriculture.
