Food and growth of hatchery‐produced chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), in landlocked Lake Purrumbete, Victoria, Australia

One‐year old hatchery‐produced chinook salmon were released into landlocked Lake Purrumbete, Victoria, in 1976 and specimens were recaptured at three‐monthly intervals during the next two years. Examination of their stomach contents revealed that fish, particularly Galaxias maculatus, formed the bulk of the food of the salmon. Other items eaten included Amphipoda, Cladocera, Ostracoda and Decapoda (Crustacea), Odonata, Coleoptera, Diptera, Trichoptera and Hemiptera (Insecta) and Gastropoda (Mollusca). At the end of their first three months in the lake the salmon had increased 85% in length and over 670% in weight. After two years in the lake, their length was 582 mm and their weight was 2.73 kg. Growth rate was lowest in spring when the relative amount of fish in the stomach contents was at its lowest and there was a greater diversity of food types in the dict.