Náttúrufræðingurinn - 1994, Page 82

■ SUMMARY
FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS OF
GREENLAND HALIBUT (REINHARDTIUS
HIPPOGLOSSOlDESj IN ICELANDIC
WATERS
The food of Greenland halibut in the waters
west, north and east of Iceland was investi-
gated. A total of 1478 Greenland halibut were
collected from 162 hauls taken during the pe-
riod from 15 May 1991 to 17 March 1992.
Capelin (Mallolus villosus), eelpouts (Lyc-
odes spp.), and the shrimps Hymenodora glaci-
alis and Pandalus borealis were the main prey
species of Greenland halibut. Other food
groups included various species of fish,
shrimps, euphausiids, mysids and cephalo-
pods. Echinoderms, bivalves, gastropods,
polychaetes and other benthic animals oc-
curred only rarely.
Food composition varied according to area.
A definite change in food composition with in-
creasing size of Greenland halibut was also ob-
served. The smallest físh ate mainly various
species of crustaceans, while medium-sized in-
dividuals ate mainly capelin, H. glacialis and
P. borealis. Eelpouts and other relatively large
fish species were the main food of the largest
Greenland halibut.
The average food content and the percentage
of stomachs containing food proved largest in
suramer and autumn off the north and east
coast, and smallest in the spawning areas of
Greenland halibut off the west coast in Febru-
ary.
Greenland halibut appears to feed on H.
glacialis rather than P. borealis, even though
there is a greater abundance of P. borealis near
the bottom. H. glacialis is a mesopelagic spe-
cies, living further above the bottom than P.
borealis. This may indicate that Greenland
halibut mainly forages in the water column.
PÓSTFANG HÖFUNDAR/AuTHOR’s
ADDRESS
Jón Sólmundsson
Hafrannsóknastofnun/
Marine Research Institute
Skúlagötu 4
IS-101 REYKJAVÍK
76