The study of the food of fishes attracted the attention of fishery biologists
from the beginning of the present century in view of the recognised importance
of food as an environmental factor influencing the growth and distribution of
fishes and the success of their fishery. A great deal of work has been done
on the food and feeding habits of fishes from Indian waters. A perusal of the
literature shows that although casual observations have been made on the
food of lethrinids by Al-Hussaini (1947), Devanesan and Chidambaram (1948)
and Wheeler (1953), very little information is available about the qualitative and
quantitative aspects of the food of these fishes. The present investigation was
undertaken to get a xlear picture of the food and feeding habits of Lethrinus
lentjan, and attention was devoted to the following aspects during the study:
(i) qualitative and quantitative analyses of the food, (ii) feeding intensity,
(iii) feeding habits and (iv) composition of food in relation to the size of the fis
