The diet of the minke whale in Greenland-A short review

Information on the diet of minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in Greenland waters is reviewed. The knowledge is based on reports by whale catchers in Greenland, supplemented by limited scientific studies of stomach contents. The available material indicates that capelin (Mallotus villosus) is the predominant prey item in Greenland waters, particularly in coastal areas. In offshore areas, sand eel (Ammodytes spp) is consumed rather frequently, and krill (euphausids) appears to play a certain role in some areas or periods. Neve, EN. 2000. The diet of the minke whale in Greenland a short review. NAMMeD Sci. Pub!. 2:92-96.

Fig. 1.Th e minke whale has a characteristic while patch on its jlippel:

Introduction
The role of minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata ) (Fig. 1) in the marine ecosystem, and their effects on important f ish stocks in the North Atlantic, may be particularly relevant to understanding the migration patterns of the whales, and thus their fluctuations in abundance in their North Atlantic feeding areas.However, further information on the population size and dynamics, energy requirements and diet of minke whales is required.This paper addresses the last issue by presenting a review of earlier published results on minke whale diet in Greenlandic waters, together with recent information reported by loca l hunters.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Information on the food habits of minke whales in Green landic waters was first presented by Fabrici us (1780), who stated that the predominant prey item was capelin (Mallolus villosus), but that they also consumed other small fish.Casual information collected during the following century was summarised by Winge (1902), who noted that the predominant prey items were small fis h, especially capelin.Accord ing to Pedersen (1931) and Born (1983), the diet of minke whales caught at Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund), Northeast Greenland (Fig. 2), was composed mainly of polar cod (Boreogadus saida), and, to a lesser extent, crustaceans.Jonsgaard (1982) reported on the stomach contents of 31 minke wha les caught off Southeast 92 ----------------------------------------------------- ).In 1979, information was obtained on seven whales, five of which had fed upon sand eel, and two on krill (Anonymous 1981 ).In 1980, information on feeding was ava il abl e for 32 whales.Thirty of these had fed on sand eel, 1 on small unidentified fish, and the last on krill.In 1981, information was obtained on 21 whales, 20 of which had fed on sand eel, and I on small unidentified fish .These findings demonstrated that sand eel was the predominant prey in offshore areas of West Greenland, as they were identified in 92% of the whales examined.Green land in July-August, and five caught off Southwest Greenland in August 1968.All the Southeast Greenland animals had consumed capelin.Two of the Southwest Greenland whales had fed upon sand eels (Ammodytes sp.), and 3 had eaten pelag ic crustaceans.Chri stensen (1 974) reported that minke whales caught off Southeast Greenland in July-August, 1973 , had fed upon either capelin (55% of stomachs examined), capelin and krill , or just krill.Of minke whales caught off West Greenland in July-August 1973,34 had sand eels in their stomachs, 20 anima ls had krill , 4 animals pelagic pteropods, and 1 animal had capelin.
Information on feeding from the examination of regurgitated material obtained during Norwegian whaling off West Greenland from 1979-81 was reported by Larsen and Kapel (1 98 1,1982 , I""""""""'" on ly capelin (Larsen and Kapel 198 1).A minke whale caught at Qeqertarsuaq in 1986 had only capelin present in its stomach (Heide-J0rgensen, Greenland In stitute of Natura l Resources, DK-2200, Copenhagen N, Denmark, unpubl.data).In 1996, the stomachs of 2 minke whales caught at Nuuk were examined.One had fed upon krill and cape lin and 1 contained only capelin (Neve unpubl.data).
Stomach content data reported by Greenland whaling vessels from 1955-1979 were reviewed by Larsen and Kapel (198 1), and are presented in Table 1 for the northern and southern part of West Greenland.Small fish species, particularly capelin, were found in most stomachs (76% to 91%) , but planktonic organisms (euphausiids, other crustaceans, and pteropods) were also reported rather frequently (9% to 24%).
A comparison of the information from the whaling reports for 1955-79 (Table 1) with that from similar reports for 1992-1996 (Table 2) indicates that the feeding patterns ofminke whales in West Greenland have remained relatively stable, with capelin as the major prey item.Sand eel, however, appears to be reported more frequently during the period 1992-1996.This cou ld have res ulted from a change in hunting patterns, with a greater proportion of the catch coming from offshore areas in recent years, or from changes in minke whale or sand eel distribution or abundance.
H0pner Petersen (1977) suggested that a large

Fig. 2 .
Fig. 2.Map of Greenland showing the regions and locations referred to in th e text During fie ld work conducted in 1978, the stomachs of 4 minke whales caught at Qeqertarsuaq were examined.Two contained euphausiids, 1 a mixture of euphausi ids and capelin , and 1 93NAMMCO Scientifi c Publications, Volwn e 2

Table I :
Composition of minke whale diet in Greenland during 1955-1 979.NW= northwest, CW = central west, SW = southwest (from catch reports, Larsen and Kapel 1981).•krill includes plankton and crustaceans.••Other includes small fis h and other small animals.
*krill includes plankton and crustaceans.*•Other includes medusa, wolffish, small fis h, fish larvae and other small animals.