16 8 Abstract–The stomachs of 819 Atlan Differences in diet of Atlantic bluefin tuna tic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) sampled from 1988 to 1992 were ana (Thunnus thynnus) at five seasonal feeding grounds lyzed to compare dietary differences among five feeding grounds on the on the New England continental shelf* New England continental shelf (Jef freys Ledge, Stellwagen Bank, Cape Bradford C. Chase Cod Bay, Great South Channel, and South of Martha’s Vineyard) where a Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries majority of the U.S. Atlantic commer 30 Emerson Avenue cial catch occurs. Spatial variation in Gloucester, Massachusetts 01930 prey was expected to be a primary E-mail address:
[email protected] influence on bluefin tuna distribution during seasonal feeding migrations. Sand lance (Ammodytes spp.), Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus), Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus), squid (Cephalopoda), and bluefish (Pomato Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thyn- England continental shelf region, and mus saltatrix) were the top prey in terms of frequency of occurrence and nus) are widely distributed throughout as a baseline for bioenergetic analyses. percent prey weight for all areas com the Atlantic Ocean and have attracted Information on the feeding habits of bined. Prey composition was uncorre valuable commercial and recreational this economically valuable species and lated between study areas, with the fisheries in the western North Atlantic apex predator in the western North exception of a significant association during the latter half of the twentieth Atlantic Ocean is limited, and nearly between Stellwagen Bank and Great century. The western North Atlantic absent for the seasonal feeding grounds South Channel, where sand lance and population is considered overfished by where most U.S.