Tomasz Wandzel
Sea Fisheries Institute, Kołłątaja 1, 81-332 Gdynia, Poland

Key words: southern Baltic, Puck Bay, Gulf of Gdańsk, Neogobius melanostomus, food, feeding.

Abstract.
This work presents the results of studies of the food and feeding patterns of the round goby Neogobius melanostomus, a new fish species in the Puck Bay and the Gulf of Gdańsk. The food composition of this fish was determined based on the analyses of 829 stomachs from specimens collected in 2001. The following methods were applied: number contribution; weight contribution; frequency of occurrence. The analyses of stomach contents revealed the presence of 12,407 food units of a combined weight of 1,475.35 g. Benthic invertebrates dominated and bivalves were observed in all of the stomachs. Both mollusks and crustaceans were noted in the food of specimens from all length classes. Round goby spawn was confirmed in the food of the males.