FISHERIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE,MOA,TAIWAN

This study investigated the feeding habits of Bomay duck (Harpadon microchir) by examining their stomach contents. In total, 1,466 specimens were obtained by sampling catches from trawlers operating in the southwestern waters of Taiwan from February 2012 to December 2013. Based on the stomach contents of specimens, the study found that the main species were Sergestid shrimp (27.3%) and Neoscopelus macrolepidotus (38.3%) in the spring, H. microchir (26.9% and 19.5%) and Plesionika taiwanica (25.8% and 34.5%) in the summer and autumn, and S. talismani (16.5%) and H. microchir (27.7%) in winter. The Bomay ducks smaller than 15 cm mainly fed on S. lucens and N. macrolepidotus; those with a body size of 16 to 25 cm fed on N. macrolepidotus, S. lucens, H. microchir, and P. taiwanica; and those with a body size of 26 to 40 cm fed on H. microchir and P. taiwanica. H. microchir accounted for 55% of the total stomach contents in the specimens with a body size ranging from 36 to 40 cm. Specimens with a body size larger than 40 cm mainly fed on S. talismani, P. taiwanica, Polymixia japonica, Apogonidae, and Bregmacerotid spp.. The feeding habits varied significantly among the specimens of different sizes, suggesting that the feeding habits of Bomay ducks change at different developmental stages.