FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS OF BARRACUDAS IN THE EGYPTIAN MEDITERRANEAN WATERS, OFFALEXANDRIA.

FOOD AND FEEDING HABITS OF BARRACUDAS

IN THE EGYPTIAN MEDITERRANEAN WATERS,

OFFALEXANDRIA.

By
S. M. ALLAM*; S. N. FALTAS AND E. RAGHEB
*National Institute ofOceanography andFisheries, Alexandria, Egypt.
Key words: S. chrysotaenia, S. jlavicauda, S. sphyraena, S. viridensis,
feeding habits.
ABSTRACT
Food preferences of four species of barracudas; SphyraelUl
chrysotaenia, Sphyraena jlavicauda, Sphyraena sphyraena and
Sphyraena viridensis from the Egyptian Mediterranean waters, off
Alexandria were investigated during the periodfrom March 1998 to
February 1999. Fish prey (mainly anchovy”) were mainly the most
important food eaten by different Sphyraena species. Crustaceans and
molluscs were accidental exceptfor S. flavicauda where crustaceans
were secondary in importance. All Sphyraena species studied are
primary piscivores since they mostly feed on smallfish. In order to
deal with detailed infonnationfor each species, the diet variation with
season and different length classes have been taken into
consideration. Feeding intensity had maximUl11 values in summer for
all species.