Food of Seventeen Species of Northwest Atlantic Fish

摘要

The stomach contents of 16,631 fish representing 17 species common to Northwest Atlantic continental shelf waters have been analyzed. Fish were collected during annual spring and autumn bottom trawl surveys conducted in offshore waters between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and Western Nova Scotia in the years 1973-1976. In the first section, major types of food within the entire study region are determined by examining the diet of predators according to fish length and within geographic areas traditionally referred to as the Middle Atlantic, Southern New England, Georges Bank, Gulf of Maine, and Western Nova Scotia. A complete listing of all items identified in the stomachs of each species, and yearly and seasonal differences or similarities in the quantity and type of prey are noted and discussed in the second section. Examination of stomach contents revealed some species of prey were widespread while others were more characteristic of a particular geographic area. Organisms of major importance as prey throughout the entire region sampled were identified.