294 
Fishery Bulletin 113(3) 
Table 1 
Number of stomachs extracted for this study, according to year, region, and season, from weakfish (Cynoscion regalis), 
southern kingfish (Menticirrhus americanus ), and Atlantic croaker ( Micropogonias undulatus ) collected from 2008 through 
2010 during nearshore trawl surveys conducted by the Southeastern Monitoring and Assessment Program — South Atlantic. 
2008 
2009 
2010 
Southern 
Atlantic 
Southern 
Atlantic 
Southern 
Atlantic 
Weakfish 
kingfish 
croaker 
Weakfish 
kingfish 
croaker 
Weakfish 
kingfish 
croaker 
Spring 
Region 
Florida 
5 
5 
1 
4 
2 
7 
7 
23 
6 
Georgia 
1 
4 
1 
2 
6 
6 
South Carolina 
1 
8 
3 
Long Bay 
11 
14 
7 
1 
6 
4 
Onslow Bay 
9 
15 
8 
15 
20 
9 
Raleigh Bay 
8 
9 
8 
16 
25 
4 
All areas 
7 
17 
5 
34 
46 
36 
39 
74 
23 
Summer 
Region 
Florida 
2 
5 
8 
1 
7 
1 
Georgia 
1 
2 
5 
1 
4 
8 
4 
9 
13 
South Carolina 
2 
3 
5 
12 
24 
17 
6 
4 
15 
Long Bay 
1 
1 
2 
7 
5 
7 
Onslow Bay 
4 
2 
7 
4 
5 
4 
10 
5 
11 
Raleigh Bay 
4 
2 
3 
7 
4 
9 
All areas 
11 
9 
20 
27 
43 
48 
28 
30 
47 
Autumn 
Region 
Florida 
4 
11 
10 
3 
22 
12 
Georgia 
9 
18 
18 
7 
17 
17 
5 
11 
12 
South Carolina 
7 
12 
6 
9 
20 
19 
7 
11 
8 
Long Bay 
1 
2 
1 
6 
7 
9 
12 
14 
8 
Onslow Bay 
15 
20 
25 
5 
3 
7 
1 
8 
2 
Raleigh Bay 
15 
4 
6 
11 
8 
6 
13 
15 
6 
All areas 
47 
56 
56 
42 
66 
68 
41 
81 
48 
Total 
65 
82 
81 
103 
155 
152 
108 
185 
118 
Bony fishes, mostly bay anchovy ( Anchoa mitchilli), 
striped anchovy (A. hepsetus), and other members of the 
class Actinopterygii, dominated the diet of weakfish, with 
a frequency of occurrence of 63% in stomachs that con- 
tained food (Table 2). The diet composition by weight con- 
sisted of 70% bony fishes. The highest diet component by 
number was nondecapod crustaceans (69%). In addition 
to bony fishes, the most frequently consumed prey items 
were mysids, the sergestid shrimp Acetes amei'icanus car- 
olinae, and various crustaceans. Values of mean percent 
weight and mean percent number predictably showed 
bony fishes to be the dominant prey consumed (44% and 
35%, respectively); however, decapod crustaceans (32%) 
and nondecapod crustaceans (29%) had similarly high 
values for mean percent number (Fig. 2, A and B). 
Results from the use of the Amundsen method indi- 
cate that the feeding strategy of weakfish was mixed 
because individuals sometimes chose specific prey but 
the population was often opportunistic with regard to 
what prey were selected. The top left portion of the 
graph in Figure 3A shows that many individuals chose 
specific prey types; however, the specific prey selected 
by each individual differed (Fig. 3A). The data points 
scattered throughout the center of this graph indicate 
a mixed feeding strategy, suggesting that, occasionally, 
the population would feed opportunistically. 
Southern kingfish 
Stomachs were processed for this study from 486 indi- 
viduals, with an average size of 21 cm TL (for young- 
of-the-year fish through adult fish), and 422 of those 
stomachs contained food (86%; Table 1). Prey repre- 
senting 86 taxa were identified (Table 2). 
Decapod and nondecapod crustaceans were present 
in the majority of stomachs. Collected stomach sam- 
