Authors : Syeda Mushahida-Al-Noor, Sheikh Kamruzzaman and Md. Delwer Hossain
Abstract: Only a few studies has been found on seasonal variation of food composition and feeding activity of small adult Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) from the South West coastal waters of Bangladesh. The food habits of small adult Barramundi in the Rupsha and Shibsha river were investigated by examining the gastro intestine contents of 720 specimens collected from June, 2010 to July, 2011. Food and feeding habits of small adult Barramundi were studied based on analysis of the gut contents. Gravimetric Method was adopted for determining the fullness of the stomach of the fish. The major components of the diet in the stomach of small adult Barramundi were teleosts (32.40%), macro-crustacean (22.65%), zooplankton (17.16%), algae (10.40%) and insects (9.89%). Monthly fluctuations were also witnessed in the percentage occurrence of stomachs with different degrees of fullness. It is evident that higher percentage of fullness of the stomach was recorded in pre-monsoon due to pre-spawning fattening process. Higher percentage of emptiness of the stomach was recorded in monsoon due to starvation during breeding seasons. It is also observed that the percentage of stomach fullness was higher in Summer than the percentage in Winter in small adult Barramundi.
Syeda Mushahida-Al-Noor, Sheikh Kamruzzaman and Md. Delwer Hossain, 2012. Seasonal Variation of Food Composition and Feeding Activity of Small Adult Barramundi (Lates calcarifer, Bloch) in the South West Coastal Water near Khulna, Bangladesh. Journal of Fisheries International, 7: 77-82.