1Tajima Fisheries Technology Institute, Hyogo Prefectural Technology Center for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mikata, Hyogo 669-6541, 2Graduate School of Biosphere Science, Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8528, Japan
Seasonal variations in body composition and biological parameters (condition factor, gonad weight index, fat-body ratio in the abdominal cavity) of deepsea smelt Glossandon semifasciatus caught in the western Sea of Japan were studied. Lipid storage of this species was characterized by the fat-body in the abdominal cavity. The maximum levels of the fat-body ratio in the abdominal cavity, condition factor and lipid content of the whole body were observed in May, which was in accordance with good ingredients for broiled deepsea smelt. The fatty acid composition of krill Euphausia pacifica as the main feed item for deepsea smelt showed high and low similarities to those of the fish muscle and abdominal fat-body of the fish, respectively.