Diet of landlocked sockeye salmon(Oncorhynchus nerka)and trout in the Waitaki lakes, New Zealand

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Abstract
Landlocked sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), ranging in fork length (FL) from 105 to 313 mm, were captured in fine‐mesh gill nets set in the limnetic zone of the Waitaki hydro lakes (44° 30′ S, 170° 10’ E) in the South Island, New Zealand. A total of 443 stomachs was examined and the frequency of occurrence, volume and weight of prey items calculated. In the Ahuriri Arm of Lake Benmore the principal food (54% by weight) was zooplankton (Boeckella dilatata) whereas in the Haldon Arm of Lake Benmore it was larval and juvenile common bullies (Gobiomorphus cotidi‐anus) (73% by volume). In Lake Waitaki in winter, salmon had eaten insects (43% by volume) with smaller amounts of snails (Potamopyrgus antipo‐darum, 23%) and bullies (24%). In Lake Ohau adult insects may be an important food. There were also variations in diet with season and fish size. The stomachs of 147 brown trout (Salmo trutta) and 181 rainbow trout (S. gairdnerii) caught in the same gill nets were also examined. In contrast to sockeye salmon stomachs they contained negligible amounts of zooplankton (< 1% by weight) and large amounts of aquatic insects (50–58% by weight in the Ahuriri Arm of Lake Benmore). Comparisons with juvenile sockeye salmon and kokanee in North American lakes are made. The impact of introductions of sockeye salmon into other New Zealand lakes is discussed.