Nañola et al. in 1997 reported 248 species from 1991 to 1996 in the Kalayaan Group of Islands (KIG). The larger species had an average standing stock or biomass of 114 metric tons per km2. But the Joint Oceanographic and Marine Scientific Research Expedition (JOMSRE I) found more species: 404 species in 144 genera and 45 families. Stockwell and Long during JOMSRE III, IV found that the dominant families of fish were non-food species, Labridae and Pomacentridae. The families Acanthuridae, Caesionidae, Lethrinidae, Lutjanidae, Siganidae, and Mullidae made up the target (food) families of fish.

Alcala, A. C. (2015, September 24). Reef fisheries of the Spratlys, West Philippine Sea. Malaya, p. B5.