Abstract

No information exisits on the fish fauna in the shallow, algal/seagrass habitat surrounding Parque Nacional del Este, Dominican Republic. In order to assess the current status of tish populations near the park, 63 hvo-minutes otter trawls were conducted among nine stations. The number, size, and weight of each fish collected was recorded at each station. The percent converage of algae and seagrass species was collected at each station using belt quadrats. The most dominant species numerically in the catch was the balloonfish (Diodon holocanthus). Only three snapper individuals and three grouper species were collected. All three grouper individuals were mutton hamlet (Epinephelus afer). There were significant differences in the mean biomass of fish per trawl among stations. Stations at the opening of the channel between the mainland and Saona Island had higher biomass than other stations. Length-weight relationships were calculated for four speies: D. holocanthus, Scarus criocensis, Sparsimona aurofrenatum, and Sparsimona rubripinne. There appears to be very little relationship between algae or seagrass abundance and the biomass of fish collected. There is a lack of recruitment of snappers and groupers to these habitats which is one of the causes of low densities of these fishes on offshore coral reefs.

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