Thaleichthys pacificus (eulachon) 



Thaleichthys were found in stomachs of 12 

 out of 13 seals collected in the Bering Sea 

 between 21 July and 10 October. 



Theragra chalcogrammus (walleye pollock) 



Theragra were of minor importance in west- 

 ern Alaska and Unimak Pass, but were the 

 most important food item (41.6 percent of the 

 total food by volume) in the Bering Sea. They 

 were generally distributed and found regularly 

 from May to October. 



Pleurogrammus monopterygius (Atka mack- 

 erel) 



Pleurogrammus were generally distributed in 

 collections from June to October. They were 

 second in importance as a food item in Unimak 

 Pass and fifth in the Bering Sea (6.5 and 5.0 

 percent of the total food by volume, respec- 

 tively). 



Ammodytes hexapterus (sand lance) 



Ammodytes were the third most important 

 food item (12.1 percent of the total food by 

 volume) in western Alaska, but were of minor 

 importance in Unimak Pass. They were found 

 in stomachs collected in May, June, and Oc- 

 tober. They were not found in the Bering Sea. 



Bathymasteridae (searchers) 



One member of this family was found in 

 the stomach of a seal collected in Unimak 

 Pass. The fish was nearly digested. 



Decapoda (squids) 



only beaks were available for identification, 

 the specimens were listed as unidentified. 

 Squids definitely known to be gonatids, but 

 lacking specific distinguishing features are 

 listed as Gonatidae. The squids in this 

 category are almost certainly either Gonatus 

 magister or Gonatopsis sp. Gonatus fabricii is 

 easily separated from Gonatus magister and 

 Gonatopsis sp. by beak characters alone. 



Squids with distinguishing features intact 

 were identified as Gonatus fabricii, Gonatus 

 magister, or to genus in the case of Gonatopsis 

 sp. The last may be Gonatopsis borealis. The 

 distribution of the three identified squids in 

 western Alaska, Unimak Pass, and the Bering 

 Sea does not differ materially from that found 

 in 1960. 



Gonatus fabricii was next in importance to 

 Gonatus magister in frequency of occurrence but 

 was of minor importance by volume. It was 

 identified only in seal stomachs from the 

 Bering Sea, with one exception. It was found 

 principally on the feeding ground north of 

 Akutan and Unalaska Islands and in the deep 

 water between Bogoslof Island and St. George 

 Island. Only beaks remained in stomachs 

 collected in the vicinity of the Pribilof Islands; 

 fragments in various stages of digestion were 

 found in stomachs collected in deep water. 



Gonatus magister was found principally in 

 western Alaska where it comprised 47.7 per- 

 cent of the food found in seal stomachs. In the 

 Bering Sea it occurred principally in the feed- 

 ing area immediately north of Unalaska, Aku- 

 tan, and Akun Islands, There it formed 11.6 

 percent of the food. It is probable that beaks 

 found in three seals taken near the Pribilof 

 Islands were from squid consumed on the 

 Aleutian feeding grounds. 



Squids were a major food in western Alaska 

 and the Bering Sea. They ranked second in 

 the combined areas by volume and first by 

 frequency of occurrence. In Unimak Pass, 

 they were of minor importance. Squids are 

 listed under five categories: unidentified 

 squids, Gonatidae, Gonatus fabricii. Gonatus mag- 

 ister, and Gonatopsis sp. All are probably 

 members of the family Gonatidae, but where 



Gonatopsis sp. was found in seal stomachs 

 collected principally in the Bering Sea north 

 of Unalaska, Akutan, Akun Islands, and in deep 

 water between Bogoslof Island and St. George 

 Island. Gonatopsis comprised 10.3 percent of 

 the food found in seal stomachs collected in 

 the Bering Sea and was identified in two 

 stomachs from Unimak Pass and one from 

 western Alaska. 



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