PRODUCTION AND CONSUMPTION BY PLANKTIVOROUS FISH IN THE NORTHERN BENGUELA ECOSYSTEM IN THE 1980S

In the 1980s, abundance of four abundant planktivorous fish in the nor thern Benguela ecosystem (15-29-degrees-S, coast to 500 m contour) - p ilchard Sardinops sagax, anchovy Engraulis capensis, bearded goby Suff logobius bibarbatus and lanternfish, mainly Lampanyctodes hectoris - w as estimated to be 1,8 million tons wet mass on average. These fish co nsumed 3,7 million tons dry mass of plankton, mostly zooplankton, and produced 0,1 million tons of carbon annually. There is considerable un certainty regarding the estimates of abundance and diet; hence also of consumption and production.