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In the Philippines fish are called “isda”. There are many varieties of fish. The country's tropical
climate and coral reefs make its waters located near the center of the Coral Triangle among the richest
in marine life anywhere providing a bounty of fresh Philippine seafood and an assortment of tropical
fish. According to some estimates 5% of the world's reef area is in Philippine waters and the marine fish
in the area represent 20% of the total marine fish in the world.
Filipino fish names can get confusing very quickly. Different names can be given to the same fish
and a name can be applied to multiple fish—and that's just in the same dialect and region. Given the
various Philippine languages and the disparate islands comprising the archipelago, custom and usage
varies and contradictions frequently crop up. In Metro Manila, Tagalog is the dominant language but
because of the influx of people from the provinces, local names and regional names from other parts of
the country like the Visayas or Ilocos or even other Tagalog provinces with their own name variants are
sometimes used in Manila wet markets.
A list of Philippine fish names in English and its Filipino Common Names, with some scientific
names and fish pictures to help identify particular Filipino fish species found in local fish markets:
Lamas
Bangangan
Manubon
http://www.stuartxchange.com/FishNames.html
http://philfoodie.blogspot.com/2011/05/philippine-fish.html
http://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov/Circulars/CIRC14.pdf