Importance of discarded blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) in the diet of lesser spotted dogfish (Scyliorhinus canicula) in the Cantabrian Sea.

The blue whiting is the most important demersal species caught by the Spanish trawler fleet in the southern Bay of Biscay. Lesser spotted dogfish are not a commercial by-catch, and are discarded immediately after sorting. During 1994 the contents of 1094 dogfish stomachs were analysed. The results show that lesser spotted dogfish with a total length of >17 cm eat blue whiting throughout the year. The length range of blue whiting found in lesser spotted dogfish stomachs was similar to the length range discarded by the fishery. Blue whiting account for 20% of the stomach volume in lesser spotted dogfish 30–50 cm long. From the state of digestion of blue whiting prey, and the comparative analysis of the size distributions of blue whiting in lesser spotted dogfish stomachs and in the fishery, it appears that many of these blue whiting are discards, consumed when already dead or damaged. The impact of this supplementary food on lesser spotted dogfish abundance is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]