and holothurians, made up less than 5 per- 

 cent of the stomach contents . 



Unusually small quantities of crusta 

 ceans were found in the diet of Georges 

 Basin haddock. In samples from the iNjorth- 

 east Peak and Southeast Part, crustaceans 

 constituted 30 to 40 percent of the food, in 

 contrast to 5 percent found in the Georges 

 Basin samples. Euphausiids were represent- 

 ed by a single species, Meganyctiphanes 

 norvegica M. Sars. Although this species 

 was found in haddock from the Northeast 

 Peak, it was much more common in Georgps 

 Basin samples . Hyperiid amphlpods were 

 comparatively abundant in Georges Basin had- 

 dock, and one species, Parathemisto com- 

 pressa (Goes), was one of the animals dis- 

 tinctive to this food-type area. 



100 fathoms, although most of it is between 

 40 and 50 fathoms . Sand with gravel and 

 shell fragments aie the predominant sub- 

 stiate components . Food habits of haddock 

 from this food-type area were determined 

 from the stomach analysis of 639 specimens 

 from 15 collection stations . Mean body 

 length of these haddock was 46 centimeters; 

 extremes m length were 14 and 75 centi- 

 meters . Their average stomach content 

 volume was 1 . 93 cubic centimeters . 



Crustaceans were the primary food of 

 haddock in this aiea, followed closely in im- 

 portance by the mollusks and echinoderms . 

 Annelids, fish, and the miscellaneous animal 

 groups made up only a small portion of the 

 diet o In table 6 the frequency, number, and 

 volume of the food organisms are enumerated. 



Pelagic tunicates, listed under the head- 

 ing Urochorda in the miscellaneous group, 

 were rather common food items in diis area . 

 They provided 8.2 percent of the food for 

 Georges Basin haddock . The aggregate form 

 of Salpa zonaria (Pallas) was the predominant 

 species . 



Even though haddock from this food-type 

 area were large and thereby better adapted 

 for engulfing fish, only an insignificant 

 quantity of fish or fish remains, 0.5 percent 

 by volume, was present in their diet. 



Histograms illustrating the percentage 

 volume of the stomach contents of haddock 

 from each food-type area are presented in 

 figure 4. Differences in stomach -content 

 composition of Georges Basin haddock as 

 compared with other areas are readily appar- 

 ent. 



Northeast Peak 



The most easterly portion of Georges 

 Bank, including nearly one -fifth the total 

 bank area, is designated the Northeast Peak. 

 Water depths in this area range from 30 to 



Decapod crustaceans were an especially 

 common food of haddock from the Northeast 

 Peak . They alone accounted for 22 . 1 per- 

 cent of the total stomach -content volume. 

 The toad crab, Hyas coarctatus Leach, was 

 the decapod taken in the greatest quantity . 

 Because of the large amount of toad crabs 

 eaten, and because their occurrence in the 

 diet was restricted to the Northeast^eak, 

 this species was selected as one of the index 

 organisms characteristic of this food-t3?pe 

 area . Cancer irroratus Say, Pandalus 

 borealis Kroyer, Dichelopandalus leptocerus 

 (Smith), and several species of Pagurus were 

 other crustaceans prominent in the diet , 



Among the mollusks that were preyed 

 upon by haddock, the squid, Illex illecebrosus 

 Lesueur, made up the greatest volume but 

 were taken by relatively few haddock . Gastro 

 pods and pelecypods occurred in approximate- 

 ly equal amounts, with each providing slightly 

 more than 5 percent of the food. Anach is 

 haliaeeti Jeffreys, Cerastoderma pinnulatum 

 Conrad, Astarte undata Gould, and Placo- 

 pecten magellanicus Qmelin were some of the 

 species frequently eaten. It was interesting 

 to note that the only portions of the sea scallop, 



13 



