Analysis of the diet of trawl-caught hake (Merluccius merluccius) from three locations in the Bay of Biscay and the Celtic Sea in autumn 2001 showed that small hake fed almost exclusively on crustaceans (mainly euphausiids), but that there was a significant shift towards a fully piscivorous diet in hake > 23 cm. A change in fish prey was also size-dependent, because smaller hake (< 30 cm) preyed on small pelagic fish (3-12 cm), such as horse mackerel, anchovy, and pilchard, and larger hake on larger demersal prey (12-23 cm), such as blue whiting. There was a significant positive relationship between hake and fish prey length. In terms of fish prey selectivity, hake exhibited particular preference for small pelagic prey (anchovy, pilchard, and... |