Food and feeding habits of Indian halibut, Psettodes erumei from the North of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea

Indian halibut, Psettodes erumei is the single member of family Psettodidae recorded in the southern waters of Iran (north of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea). In the present study, the feeding habit of this species was investigated. The specimens were collected monthly from October 2016 to November 2017 by shrimp trawl from three sampling sites along the northern parts of the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea (Hormozgan Province, Iran). For the diet analysis, the stomach contents of 433 individuals were analyzed. Of these, 277 were empty (VI=63.97%) which varied significantly throughout the study period. Feeding intensity of both sexes was high before the gonadal maturation peak; during the period when a maximum percentage of fully mature individuals were present, the feeding intensity was found to be low. The overall diet showed that Indian halibut is mainly a piscivorous carnivore and Teleostei were the most frequent and important food group in the diet (%F=48.08, %IRI=98.44). Crustacean and Cephalopods constituted a small portion of the diet (%F=5.77 and 1.92, respectively) and were of minor importance (%IRI=1.33 and 0.23, respectively). Diet composition showed no significant variation in relation to season, fish size and sex and only some significant differences were observed in their frequency and numerical percentage. The trophic level for this species was calculated 4.4. The present study provides partial information on feeding habits of Indian halibut, of prime importance for the fisheries management and also helps to understand the trophic role of fish in relation to other species in the ecosystem.