Food of barracouta (Teleosti: Gempylidae) in eastern Cook Strait

Abstract

The stomach contents were examined from 244 barracoota, Thyrsites atun (Euphrasen), caught in eastern Cook Strait, New Zealand. In the year of sampling (1966–67) the euphausid Nyctiphanes australis Sars was most commonly taken as food during the cooler months, replaced by the teleost hoki, Macruronus novae‐zelandiae Hector, in summer. The proportions of full and empty stomachs suggested that the barracouta fed sparingly before spawning but heavily afterwards.