Feeding Habits of Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius) in the Southern Sea of Korea

Abstract

The feeding habits of Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus niphonius) were studied based on the examination of stomach contents of 445 specimens collected from January to December 2004, in the Southern Sea of Korea. The size of Spanish mackerel ranged from 26.1 to 105.4 cm in fork length (FL). Spanish mackerel was a piscivorous fish which mainly consumed teleost fishes such as chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) and anchovy (Engraulis japonicus). Its diet also included small quantities of shrimps, stomatopods, cephalopods, crabs, polychaetes, amphipods, cumaceans and copepods. Smaller individuals (<60 cm FL) consumed small fishes such as Engraulis japonicus and crustaceans. The portion of these prey items decreased with increasing fish size, and this decrease was paralleled with increased consumption of lager fishes such as Scomber japonicus and Cololabis saira. The prey size increased with the increase of fish size.