The Multispecies Research Group at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science has developed an online fish food habits data base which offers user-selectable summaries of fish diets derived from two large scale fishery independent trawl surveys. Currently, the summaries are based on laboratory analyses of fish stomachs taken from approximately 60,000 specimens representing 53 species. The data base will be updated with new specimens several times each year.
The two surveys are the Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring and Assessment Program (ChesMMAP) that samples throughout the main stem portion of Chesapeake Bay, and the North East Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (NEAMAP), operating in the near-shore Atlantic Ocean between Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras. Information on these programs can be obtained at www.vims.edu/fisheries/mrg. You can gain access to the data base at www.vims.edu/fisheries/fishfood. After you read through the introductory material you will be taken to a short registration page, and then to the data base. After you access the data please feel free to return to the registration page and offer any comments and suggestions. You can also email the program staff directly at [email protected]. Please note that several planned improvements to the data base are described on the introductory page mentioned above.
