Studies of minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) ecology in the northeast Atlantic: Preliminary results from studies of diet and food availability during summer 1992

Abstract

Stomach content samples from 92 minke whales Balaenoptera acutorostrata, caught during scientific whaling operations in July-August 1992, were collected in five selected areas in Norwegian and adjacent waters. Preliminary results from the stomach analyses indicate a diet almost completely dominated by fish, although there was considerable heterogeneity in species composition between the areas. Capelin dominated the minke whale diets in the two northernmost study areas (Spitsbergen and Bear Island). Further south, in coastal areas of North Norway and Russia, herring was the most important food item, but was accompanied by significant amounts of sand eel, cod, haddock and saithe. A survey aimed to locate and classify fish and plankton resources was conducted simultaneously with the scientific whaling program. The northern areas were particularly dominated by 0-group cod (which was not found in whale stomachs), while capelin abundance was recorded only sporadically. Along the coast of North Norway and Russia, there appeared to be a larger degree of similarity between prey abundance and minke whale diet. Herring was documented to be very abundant both in the resource surveys and in the whale stomach analyses. The similarity in distribution was particularly conspicuous for 0-group herring.