Community assemblages of commercially important coral reef fishes inside and outside marine protected areas in the Philippines

• Assessed assemblages of commercially important coral reef fishes in the Philippines.
• More diverse, higher fish density and larger fishes inside MPAs.
• Low density and highly restricted spatial distribution pattern of many species.
• More, larger, well-distributed all over the country and well-enforced MPAs needed.
• Other fishing regulation initiatives in addition to MPAs needed.

Establishment of marine protected areas (MPA) is among the most commonly implemented initiatives for coral reef conservation and fisheries management in the Philippines. However, there are concerns that the MPAs in the country may not work because of their generally small sizes and high fishing pressures from the burgeoning highly resource-dependent population. In this study, we assessed the assemblages of seven commercially important coral reef fish families (Acanthuridae (excluding genus Zebrasoma  ), Labridae (subfamily Scarinae only), Lutjanidae, Serranidae (subfamily Epinephelinae only), Mullidae, Haemulidae and Lethrinidae) inside and outside MPAs in 37 coastal municipalities in the Philippines. A total of 12,354 individuals belonging to 114 species (33 species of Acanthuridae, 27 species of Scarinae, 17 species of Lutjanidae, 16 species of Epinephelinae, 9 species of Mullidae, 6 species of Haemulidae, and 6 species of Lethrinidae) were recorded. Overall, reef fishes inside MPAs were more diverse than outside MPAs based on Shannon–Wiener index of diversity. Reefs inside MPAs had an average of four more fish species than outside MPAs. Both inside and outside MPAs had comparable equitability values which are characterized by fish communities that are largely dominated by few species only. Higher fish densities, especially fishes with ⩾25cm (total length), were also recorded inside MPAs. However, we also found some patterns suggesting that more efforts must be made in order to effectively protect many of the commercially important coral reef fishes from the impacts of fishing. Our study provides valuable science-based insights that can be used to improve coral reef conservation and fisheries management initiatives in the country. Moreover, it can also serve as crucial information that can be used for monitoring and evaluation of MPA effectiveness, particularly on commercially important coral reef fishes in the country.