Food and feeding habits of cod (Gadus morhua) on the Faroe Bank

Data from ten bottom surveys on the Faroe Bank during the years 1994–1998 are used to describe the feeding habits of cod on the Faroe Bank. Cod are clearly omnivorous in their diet. Overall, fish were found in 82% of the stomachs, accounting for 59% of the food by weight, but just 35% of the food items by number. Of the fish, lesser sandeel was the most common, making up 78% of the fish biomass consumed. Cannibalism was practically non-existent. In some years, the squid Loligo forbesi formed an important component of the diet, was the main food and identified in up to 64% of the stomachs, and constituting 60% by weight of the diet; in other years, it was a negligible part. Crustaceans were found in 48% of the stomachs, accounting for 16% by weight but as much as 44% by numbers. The diet of cod shifts ontogenetically, with stomach fullness greater and nutrient quality of prey higher for cod ,70 cm.