There are foiir kindB of reefs in the Philippines which 

 have produced as much as 4.5 million kilograms of more than 50 

 kinds of fish per ann-um tiut reported production from these areas 

 was less than half of that volume in 19?+7. At the present time 

 most reef fishes 'bro;;ight to market are taken by means of explo- 

 sives and poisons although some are captured by divers with spears 

 and some are taken by handline. i^our kinds of nets have been used 

 successfully in the past; a reef drag seine and three kinds of 

 movable drive-in-nets. The most highly developed and widely used 

 drive-in-net is the muro-ami of the Japanese. This net is described 

 and specifications are given for its construction. 



The effects of fishing with explosives seem to be: (l) 

 It is wasteful in that only a fraction of the fish killed are re- 

 covered. (2) Eggs and young are killed. (3) It also seems logical 

 that the reef itself, when subjected to repeated blastii^, would 

 also be profoundly affected and perhaps rendered inoperative as a 

 fish producing area. Fully as important is the fact that the wide- 

 spread use of emlosives is hampering the legitimate development of 

 the industry as a whole. 



It is suggested that lines and pots be more extensively 

 employed and that there are modifications of line and net fishing 

 that could be developed such as trawl lines and mechanized scare- 

 lines. The trammel net is also suggested as a type of gear that 

 might be used in reef fishing and this gear is briefly described. 



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