Abstract
The stomach contents of 915 Trichiurus lepturus collected from west wharf fish harbour in Karachi coast were investigated between December 2009- December 2010. Two hundred seventy five (30.1%) stomachs were empty. Forty five Taxonomic categories were identified from the 1980 prey items analysed. It was determined that the diet of T.lepturus consisted of fish species, Cephalopods, Crustacean, Euphausiid, Mysidacea, Copepods and Stomatopods. The individuals of length (40-70cm) fed mainly on Euphausia, the individuals of length (70-90cm) fed Euphausia, small fish and Cephalopods, individuals of length more than 90cm fed mainly on fishes and Cephalopods. Feeding Intensity and the number of food items increased with increasing size of this ribbon fish.
