Abstract
THE problem of the food of fishes with its varied bearings on their shoaling habits and migrations has engaged the attention of fishery biologists since the beginning of the present century. The mackerel is an important food fish in both hemispheres. Several contributions1–5 have been made to our knowledge of the food of the Indian mackerel, Rastrelliger kanagurta, which contributes to one of the largest fisheries of India. All these observations, except those of Chacko3, which are from the Gulf of Manaar, are confined to the west coast of India. According to these workers, mackerel is a noted plankton feeder, securing its food by filtration. Chidambaram2, while observing the adult mackerel as plankton feeder, suggested the carnivorous habits of the young mackerel. Later, in a detailed account on the food of this fish, Bhimachar and George4 observe that “the food of the young mackerel does not radically differ from that of the adult”. Pradhan5 has arrived at a similar conclusion regarding the food of mackerel; but one will not fail to note from his observations that young mackerel less than 89 mm. in total length are not represented in his material.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Devanesan, D. W., and John, V., Curr. Sci., 9, 462 (1940).
Chidambaram, K., Curr. Sci., 13, 214 (1944).
Chacko, P. I., Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 29, 83 (1949).
Bhimachar, B. S., and George, P. C., Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 36, 105 (1952).
Pradhan, L. B., Ind. J. Fisheries, 3, 141 (1956).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
RAO, K., RAO, K. Differences in the Food of the Young and the Adult Indian Mackerel, Rastrelliger kanagurta (Cuv.). Nature 180, 711–712 (1957). https://doi.org/10.1038/180711b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/180711b0
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.