Energy content of mesopelagic fish from Macquarie Island

The water and calorific content of fifteen species of mesopelagic sub-Antarctic fish from Macquarie Island were determined. Mean percent water content was 69-82%. Calorific content was highly variable between species, especially in the Myctophidae, where it ranged between 22.6-59.3 kJ·g-1 dry weight. The water and calorific content varied with size class within a species, with the smallest size classes generally having the lowest water content but highest calorific content. These values will be useful for future assessment of energetic transfer between trophic levels and energetic modelling of Southern Ocean ecosystems.