Diet composition of Dissostichus eleginoides in Subarea 48.3, Dr Eduardo Holmberg survey March/April 1996

A diet analysis of the patagonian toothfish Diissostichus eleginoides in the Subarea 48.3 in March/April 1996 was carried out by frequency of occurrence (F%) and coefficient "Q" (%) methods. The samples consisted chiefly of immature specimens, with predominant length ranges of 30-70 cm (TL). Fish was by far the main food at SR and SG (63 % as sole prey). Krill appeared as secondary food, although its importance was overestimated by the frequency of occurrence method. Cephalopods and mysids occurred scarcely in the stomachs and only at SR and SG respectively. Lepidonotothen kempi, Champsocephalus gunnari and Chaenocephalus aceratus constituted the main fish prey and their variability between SR and SG depended on their local abundance. The large proportion of fish exhibiting stomachs full or close to fullness (together 62 %), suggests that feeding intensity of the species was high.