FISH PREY OF ANTARCTIC FUR SEALS, ARCTOCEPHALUS-GAZELLA, DURING THE SUMMER-AUTUMN PERIOD AT LAURIE ISLAND, SOUTH ORKNEY ISLANDS

The fish component in the diet of Antarctic fur seals, Arctocephalus g azella, was investigated at Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands from m id January to April 1988. Fish otoliths occurred in 78.8% of faecal dr oppings. Most of the otoliths extracted from scats belonged to Myctoph id fish (93.4%), mainly Electrona antarctica and Gymnoscopelus nichols i. These two fish species thus constituted the bulk of the diet. A gre ater percentage of the otoliths from G. nicholsi (31.1%) in this study were considered suitable for measurement in comparison with 10.3% fro m scats at Heard Island in 1990 and 11.4% at Macquarie Island in 1988/ 89. This lesser degree of erosion would suggest that foraging areas of fur seals during this study were closer to land than during previous studies. During the period studied, the commercial fishery around the South Orkneys was not based on Myctophid fish so there was no direct c ompetition for fish between the fur seals and fisheries.