Difference between revisions of "Antarctic toothfish"

Over the continental shelf, Antarctic toothfish feed on shrimp (''Nauticaris spp.'') and small fish, principally another neutrally buoyant nototheniid, the [[Antarctic silverfish]]. This loosely schooling species is also a major prey of [[Adélie penguin|Adélie]] and [[emperor penguin|emperor penguins]], [[Weddell seal|Weddell seals]], and Antarctic [[minke whale|minke whales]]. Therefore, competition for prey among toothfish and these other mesopredators (middle trophic level predators) could be very important. The large Antarctic toothfish are eaten by [[sperm whale|sperm whales]], [[orca|killer whales]] and possibly [[colossal squid]]. Toothfish that are dwelling on the bottom, particularly those caught during the summer on the continental slope, eat mainly [[grenadier]]s (''Macrouridae'') but also feed on other smaller fish species. Antarctic toothfish have been caught to depths of 2200 meters, though based on commercial fishing effort, few occur that deep.