203
spring brood participating in autumn spawning. Post spawning mortality is usually
high, particularly in females. Longevity ranges between 1 and 3 years (Roper
et al. 1984).
The body, consisting of the head and body, is oval and flattened from the top. The
mouth is between the legs and beak shaped. The eyes are on both sides of the head
and are large. There are 10 ft on the head, two of which are longer than the others.
The long legs have four lined suction cups. The colour is dull whitish dark stained,
and the underside is white. They migrate to deep waters in winter to reach sexual
maturity. They come to mossy shores in the spring to mate and lay eggs, and usually
die after laying in late summer. Eggs adhere to algae or hard soils in a capsule, hatch
at the end of summer, fry migrate to the deep waters in autumn. Maximum length:
male is 30 cm, female is 25 cm. The average length is male 15–20 cm female10–18 cm.
Reproduction time is from March to May. Cuttlefishes have been used as medicines
in the treatment of various diseases as well as nutrients since ancient times. For this
reason, “common cuttlefish” is called officinalis (medicine) (Anonymous 2011).
The multifunctional mantle cavity is important for cuttlefish locomotion, giving
the animal its characteristic jet propulsion ability. To move away from a predator,
the cuttlefish sucks water into the mantle cavity and then uses its strong mantle
muscles to expel water with great force, forcing the cuttlefish in the opposite direction. While the cuttlefish uses its mantle cavity for jet propulsion, it relies on its
specialized fins for basic mobility and maintaining consistent speeds. The muscular
fin can manoeuvre the cuttlefish in nearly any direction: backward, forward, even in
circles, with such movement being more energetically efficient than jetting. The
cuttlefish has three hearts, with two hearts pumping blood to its large gills and one
circulating the oxygenated blood to the rest of its body. The blood itself is blue
green in colour because of hemocyanin, a copper-containing protein that transports
oxygen throughout their bodies. Reproductive systems are highly complex structures with ducts, glands and storage organs. In males, the sperms are produced in the
testis located in the posterior end of the mantle. Female reproductive system consists of a single ovary, the single oviduct having thin walled as well as glandular
portions, the paired nidamental glands and the paired accessory nidamental glands.
All cuttlefish are active carnivores feeding on live prey during their entire life cycle.
They are opportunistic feeders, switching easily from one prey to another. Preferred
diet of cuttlefish is crabs and fish; they feed on small shrimp soon after hatching
(Sasikumar et al. 2015).
Production and Trade of Cuttlefishes
There was a significant increase in Japanese imports of squid and cuttlefish, from
111,000 tonnes during the first three quarters of 2016, to 133,300 tonnes during the
same period in 2017. All the major suppliers increased their shipments: China
increased by 16.4% to 70,400 tonnes, Chile by 14.95% to 13,300 tonnes, and Peru
by 53.8% to 12,900 tonnes. Spanish imports of squid and cuttlefish also increased
to 221,200 tonnes during this period, albeit by a much more modest factor. The
3.2 Cephalopods
spring brood participating in autumn spawning. Post spawning mortality is usually
high, particularly in females. Longevity ranges between 1 and 3 years (Roper
et al. 1984).
The body, consisting of the head and body, is oval and flattened from the top. The
mouth is between the legs and beak shaped. The eyes are on both sides of the head
and are large. There are 10 ft on the head, two of which are longer than the others.
The long legs have four lined suction cups. The colour is dull whitish dark stained,
and the underside is white. They migrate to deep waters in winter to reach sexual
maturity. They come to mossy shores in the spring to mate and lay eggs, and usually
die after laying in late summer. Eggs adhere to algae or hard soils in a capsule, hatch
at the end of summer, fry migrate to the deep waters in autumn. Maximum length:
male is 30 cm, female is 25 cm. The average length is male 15–20 cm female10–18 cm.
Reproduction time is from March to May. Cuttlefishes have been used as medicines
in the treatment of various diseases as well as nutrients since ancient times. For this
reason, “common cuttlefish” is called officinalis (medicine) (Anonymous 2011).
The multifunctional mantle cavity is important for cuttlefish locomotion, giving
the animal its characteristic jet propulsion ability. To move away from a predator,
the cuttlefish sucks water into the mantle cavity and then uses its strong mantle
muscles to expel water with great force, forcing the cuttlefish in the opposite direction. While the cuttlefish uses its mantle cavity for jet propulsion, it relies on its
specialized fins for basic mobility and maintaining consistent speeds. The muscular
fin can manoeuvre the cuttlefish in nearly any direction: backward, forward, even in
circles, with such movement being more energetically efficient than jetting. The
cuttlefish has three hearts, with two hearts pumping blood to its large gills and one
circulating the oxygenated blood to the rest of its body. The blood itself is blue
green in colour because of hemocyanin, a copper-containing protein that transports
oxygen throughout their bodies. Reproductive systems are highly complex structures with ducts, glands and storage organs. In males, the sperms are produced in the
testis located in the posterior end of the mantle. Female reproductive system consists of a single ovary, the single oviduct having thin walled as well as glandular
portions, the paired nidamental glands and the paired accessory nidamental glands.
All cuttlefish are active carnivores feeding on live prey during their entire life cycle.
They are opportunistic feeders, switching easily from one prey to another. Preferred
diet of cuttlefish is crabs and fish; they feed on small shrimp soon after hatching
(Sasikumar et al. 2015).
Production and Trade of Cuttlefishes
There was a significant increase in Japanese imports of squid and cuttlefish, from
111,000 tonnes during the first three quarters of 2016, to 133,300 tonnes during the
same period in 2017. All the major suppliers increased their shipments: China
increased by 16.4% to 70,400 tonnes, Chile by 14.95% to 13,300 tonnes, and Peru
by 53.8% to 12,900 tonnes. Spanish imports of squid and cuttlefish also increased
to 221,200 tonnes during this period, albeit by a much more modest factor. The
3.2 Cephalopods