Table 3.— Geographic breakdown of food of pollock, Pollachius virens, in the northwest Atlantic. Data are 

 expressed as percentage weight, for fish collected during the spring and autumn bottom trawl survey cruises 

 1969-72. !+ indicates present but <0.1%.) 



Prey 



POLYCHAETA 



Nereidiformia 



Terebelliformia 



Sahelliformia 



Other Polychaeta 

 CRUSTACEA 



Amphipoda 



Mysidacea 



Euphausiacea 



Pandalidae 



Crangonidae 



Axiidae 



Paguridae 



Majidae 



Cancridae 



Other Decapoda 



Other Crustacea 

 MOLLUSCA 



Gastropoda 



Pelecypoda 



Cephalopoda 



Other Mollusca 

 ECHINODERMATA 



Echinoidea 



Ophiuroidea 



Other Echinodermata 

 PISCES 



Clupeidae 



Gadidae 



Scombridae 



Scorpaenidae 



Bothidae 



Pleuronectidae 



Other Pisces 

 Other groups 

 Animal remains 

 Sand and rock 



92.7 



0.1 



71.6 



92.7 



1.6 



7.3 100.0 



7.0 



22.8 



0.3 



100.0 



1.3 

 2.6 



+ 



0.1 



0.8 

 0.5 



21.5 



33.8 



64.9 



36.9 

 1.9 



2.3 



23.i 



03 

 0.8 

 01 



O.I 



61.2 



0.1 



37.1 



4.0 

 1.3 



1.3 



30.5 



0.3 

 1.3 



+ 



species of fish eaten differed. Gadids (13.5%) were of pri- 

 mary importance in the Middle Atlantic where silver 

 hake were heavily cannibalistic (12.6%). Yellowtail 

 flounder (0.7%) was the only pleuronectid eaten and 

 some of the fish in the "Other Pisces" category were the 

 butterfish (0.9%); horned lantemfish, Ceratoscopelus 

 maderensis (0.6%); and the longhom sculpin (0.1%). In 

 Southern New England the Gadidae (12.6%) were also 

 important and silver hake were again cannibalistic 

 (7.4%). The Atlantic mackerel (31.7%), however, was the 

 primary prey. "Other Pisces" included butterfish (4.8%), 

 the sand lance, Ammodytes (<0.1%), and an uniden- 

 tified member of the Cottidae (0.1%). Silver hake 

 (<0.1%) were again identified as prey on Georges Bank 

 but their contribution to the diet was insignificant. The 

 only other fish identified were lantemfish, Myctophidae 

 (3.2%), and the snakeblenny, Lumpenus lumpre- 

 taeformis (0.1%). Atlantic mackerel (28.0%); Atlantic 



herring (23.1%); alewife (9.4%); silver hake (1.4%); and 

 butterfish (1.1%) were all preyed upon in the Gulf of 

 Maine. In Western Nova Scotia the Gadidae (51.2%)) 

 were preyed on extensively but silver hake only com- 

 posed l.l'c of the diet. None of the other fish were iden- 

 tified to species. 



Crustacea formed the remaining bulk of the diet in all 

 five geographic areas, and within this category the 

 Euphausiacea and Pandalidae were the most important. 

 In the Middle Atlantic, Dichelopandalus (8.2%) was the 

 only pandalid shrimp identified. Most euphausiids 

 (7.0%) were identified to the order level, however, those 

 identified to the species level were found to be Meganyc- 

 tiphanes noruegica (0.1%). The only other shrimp of any 

 significance was Crangon septemspinosa (7.4%). 

 Dichelopandalus teptocerus was also important in 

 Southern New England and Georges Bank (8.6 and 1.8%, 

 respectively), as were the euphausiids, Meganyc- 



