On the food of Chanos chanos (Forskal)

During the last few years several observations have been reported, particularly from the East Asian countries, regarding the food of the milkfish and most of the existing information is reviewed in a paper by Schuster (1949). Abstracts of other publications on this subject are also available in the bibliography on Chanos culture prepared by him (1952 i). Excepting for Sunier (1922) in Java and Chacko (1945 and 1949) in India, observations by others seem to have been based mostly on fish reared in saltwater ponds for commercial purposes. The absence of the fish in appreciable numbers in commercial catches from the sea in any part of the coast where the fish is known to occur, unfortunately, is a barrier hindering our progress towards the elucidation of many important aspects in the life of the fish and leaves several problems inadequately solved. Thus, in understanding the food and feeding habits or for determining the age, maturity and spawning behaviour, we have necessarily to depend on the occasional specimens caught during fishing operations intended for other species. Recently, after consistent efforts, it has been possible to obtain a few adult fish around Mandapam through the co-operation of the local fishermen. The examination of the stomach contents of these fish revealed certain interesting features and these, together with previous data collected by the author, are presented here, mainly to supplement our existing information on the food of the fish from their natural habitat, as these may be of some importance to fish culturists of the Indo-Pacific region