NOTE The food preferences of five commercially important fishes of Gosthani estuary

The food and feeding habits of five species of commercially important fishes of the Gostham estuary (two mullets, one each of milk fish, sand whitings and silver biddies I have been studied. They exhibited food preferences according to their habitats. However, at times they were found to encroach upon other habitats and feed on a variety of food materials. This kind of feeding habit might have arisen because of the shallowness of the estuary, the depth of which is less than a foot at many places. Nature offers great diversity of food to fishes. A knowledge on the food and feeding habits of a fish is important in understanding its biology and therefore for a successful management of any fishery. The nature of the food compo-sition of a fish also throws light on the possible habitats it frequents. The mullets (Mugilidae), the Indian sand whitings (Sillaginidae), the milk fish (Chanidae) and the long rayed silver biddies (Gerridae) form an impor-tant fishery in the Gosthani estuary and contribute considerably to the fish catches throughout the year. Among mullets Mugil cephalus and Liza macrolepis are the most common and abundant fishes in the landings. Some biological aspects of these fishes have been studied in India by Das (1979)