consumption of a fish population over time. Of course,
the answers to at least some of these questions may
also help anglers to better target their quarry.
TINY PREY FOR A BLUE MARLIN
Most of these earlier dietary studies of fish involved a
single species. In the past, such studies were simply
called ‘gut analysis’. For example, my own analysis
of the stomach contents of blue marlin surprisingly
revealed many very small prey items. This was
particularly the case in Hawaii where examination of
blue marlin caught at tournaments often revealed that
they had been feeding on tiny boxfish, triggerfish,
squid, prawn killers (squilla) and even megalops
crab larvae as small as 1 to 2cm long. Unlike tuna,
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