Food composition and feeding habits of little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus) in continental shelf waters of Côte d'Ivoire (West Africa)

Abstract

Abstract Bahou, L., Koné, T., N'Douba, V., N'Guessan, K. J., Kouamélan, E. P., and Gouli, G. B. 2007. Food composition and feeding habits of little tunny (Euthynnus alletteratus) in continental shelf waters of Côte d'Ivoire (West Africa). – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 1044–1052. The stomach contents of 170 little tunny, Euthynnus alletteratus, sampled between June 2003 and December 2004 were examined. Fish size ranged from 27 to 81 cm fork length, and all fish were caught in gillnets deployed over the continental shelf off Côte d'Ivoire (West Africa). The type and quantity of prey ingested changed seasonally. Outside the major upwelling period the diet was more varied. Overall, fish were the dominant prey of all sizes of little tunny, far exceeding crustaceans, of which shrimps and prawns were commonest but were not found in the stomachs of juveniles (<42 cm FL) or larger adults (≥53 cm FL). Little tunny are carnivorous fish that feed opportunistically. A relationship was found between the size of the prey and the size of the predator.