AbStraCt.-Food habits data from 

 415 sandbar sharks collected in the 

 area between Cape Hatteras and 

 Georges Bank (Great South Chan- 

 nel) were examined. Mean fork 

 length (FL) and body weight (BW) 

 were 55.0 cm and 1.72 kg for pups. 

 123.0cm and 23.0kg for juveniles, 

 and 166.0 cm and 52.3 kg for adults. 

 Of all juvenile and adult stomachs, 

 49% contained prey, primarily fish 

 (teleosts and skates). Of stomachs 

 from pups, 80% held food remains 

 consisting almost exclusively of soft 

 blue crabs. The mean percentage of 

 stomach content volume to BW is 

 1.16 for pups, and 0.42 for juveniles 

 and adults. Daily ration estimates 

 as percentage of mean BW are 1.43 

 for pups, and 0.86 for juveniles and 

 adults. Annual food consumption is 

 estimated to be 5.1 times the mean 

 BW for pups, and 3.1 times for juve- 

 niles and adults. 



Food habits of the sandbar shark 

 Carcharhinus plumbeus off the 

 U.S. northeast coast with estimates 

 of daily ration* 



Charles E. Stillwell 

 Nancy E. Kohler 



Narragansett Laboratory. Northeast Fisheries Science Center 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA 

 Narragansett. Rhode Island 02882 



The sandbar shark Carcharhinus 

 plumbeus is a medium-sized species 

 found in temperate and subtropical 

 waters of the world's oceans and the 

 Mediterranean Sea. It occurs from 

 nearshore out to a depth of at least 

 250m (Springer 1960, Garrick 1982). 

 Evidence of its occurrence over deep 

 water is provided by Springer (1960) 

 who reports the capture of three 

 specimens taken in midwater over 

 depths of 1000-1800 m. Distribution 

 of the sandbar shark along the U.S. 

 east coast extends from Massachu- 

 setts to the Florida Keys in the sum- 

 mer and from the offings of the Caro- 

 linas to Cape Canaveral during the 

 winter months (Bigelow & Schroeder 

 1948, Springer 1960). From May 

 through September, newborn pups 

 and small juveniles (<100cm fork 

 length, FL) are common to abundant 

 in shallow bays and estuarine sys- 

 tems along the coast from Long Is- 

 land, New York to Cape Canaveral, 

 Florida. With the approach of 

 autumn, young sharks migrate 

 offshore and south to winter at 

 depths approaching 137m (Springer 

 1960, Medved & Marshall 1983). 

 Casey ( 1976) and Casey et al. ( 1985) 

 showed that when the juvenile sand- 

 bar sharks attain a size of about 

 HOcmFL, they no longer frequent 



Manuscript accepted 19 August 1992. 

 Fishery Bulletin, U.S. 91:138-150(1993) 



'MARMAP Contribution FED/NEFC 86-05. 



the shallow nursery areas but remain 

 off the coast, demonstrating more ex- 

 tensive seasonal migrations with in- 

 creasing size. 



The most detailed publications to 

 date on food and feeding in the sand- 

 bar shark come from Springer ( 1960), 

 Medved & Marshall (1983), Medved 

 (1985), and Medved et al. (1985, 

 1988). These papers are important 

 contributions to our knowledge of the 

 diet, feeding behavior, and daily ra- 

 tion of young sandbar sharks and 

 what impact they have on prey re- 

 sources in the estuaries and near- 

 shore areas. The first study to esti- 

 mate digestion rate in the sandbar 

 shark was conducted by Wass (1973) 

 in a seawater enclosure at the Ke- 

 walo Basin facility in Hawaii. 



The purpose of this paper is to 

 present data on the food and feeding 

 habits of sandbar sharks occurring 

 from Georges Bank (Great South 

 Channel) to Cape Hatteras, to define 

 dietary differences and energy needs 

 of pups, juveniles, and adults, and to 

 estimate their daily ration. 



Methods 



Stomachs were sampled from 1972 

 through 1984 during ( 1 ) shark fishing 

 tournaments held at several coastal 

 ports from Rhode Island to southern 

 New Jersey, (2) on cruises using 



138 



