Feeding habits of Pacific black halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides matsuuraeJordan et Snyder, 1901 and Kamchatka flounder Atheresthes evermanni Jordan et Starks, 1904 in the western North Pacific
Bulletin of the Sea Fisheries Institute 1 (161) 2004, pp. 43-59

Alexei M. Orlov1, Ilyas N. Moukhametov2
1Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries & Oceanography (VNIRO), 17, V. Krasnosel’skaya, Moscow, 107140, Russia
2Sakhalin Research Institute of Fisheries & Oceanography (SakhNIRO), 196, Komsomol’skaya, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, 693016, Russia

Key words: diet; feeding habits; Pacific black halibut; Reinchardtius hippoglossoides matsuurae; Kamchatka flounder; Atheresthes evermanni; western Bering Sea; northern Kuril Islands; southeastern Kamchatka.

Abstract.
The diets of Pacific black halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides matsuurae and Kamchatka flounder Atheresths evermanni inhabiting the western Bering Sea and Pacific waters off the northern Kuril Islands and southeastern Kamchatka are examined. The diets of both predators consisted mostly of shrimps, cephalopods and fishes. The consumption of large amounts of fishery offal by Pacific black halibut and Kamchatka flounder in the western Bering Sea was noted. The diets of the species considered in both study areas are compared, and diet variations depending on fish size, capture depth, area, and sex are analyzed.