论文信息 - Preliminary study on the feeding of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar area

Preliminary study on the feeding of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar area

The stomach contents of 595 specimens of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus L.) caught with different fishing gears in the western Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar area between 2008 and 2011 are analyzed. Significant differences were found in the diet of the analyzed specimens in terms of percentage composition by taxonomic groups according to the area, season, size and physiological state and origin of the tuna, together with the fishing gear with which they were caught. Important differences were found in the species composition of the stomach contents between the tuna caught in the Mediterranean Sea and those caught in the Strait of Gibraltar. By large taxonomic groups and for all the observed stomach contents, 66% was comprised of fish, whereas crustaceans amounted to 24%. Cephalopods represented 10%. These results confirm the opportunistic character of this species in terms of feeding strategy, as well as the high position it occupies in the food chain. RESUME

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