242
X.-D. Zheng et al.
Yamamoto 1982; Wu and Tang 1990; Dong 1993; Zhang et al. 1997, 2001, 2005,
2010; Wu et al. 2010).
The major stocks of S� japonica live in warm water. Fishing season comes earlier
in the south than in the north: February–March in Guangdong and Fujian provinces
in the South China Sea, April–June in Zhejiang Province in the East China Sea and
June–July in Shandong Province in the Yellow Sea. Breeding migration starts in
spring from the deep waters to shallow waters. The breeding sites are around the
islands close to the open seas with clear water, gentle current, high salinity and convergence of Kuroshio Current and coastal waters (Dong 1988).
The time of breeding migration is related to the movement of the isotherm. The
appropriate water temperature for spawning population in the northern East China
Sea is 18–22 °C. They mate and lay eggs along the island and reefs. The eggs are
oval, with flat and forked stalk with which the eggs are attached onto substrates
such as bamboo, tree branches, plastic rope, wire, straw, coral and seaweeds. S�
japonica attaches one egg to the substratum and then winds the egg onto the fixed
stalk and continues winding in the same manner to make a string of up to 200 eggs
like grapes, hence the nickname ‘sea grape’ referring to the egg clusters by the fishermen. The eggs require 28–35 days of development before hatching at the temperature of 20–26 °C. The juvenile can live in 10–30 °C, and can adapt to a wide range
of salinity within 20–35 psu, while the adults live in salinity of 30–35 psu generally.
With 92 % of its body being edible, S� japonica is delicious and nutritious, and
rich in protein, vitamins and trace elements (Wang and Wang 2008). Meanwhile, it
is a popular traditional dish of Chinese people, and can be canned or dehydrated for
market. Most of the catch is marketed as ‘shiriyakeika’ in Japan.
S� japonica is the dominant species of cuttlefish in China, and its output has been
up to 60 % of the total amount of cephalopods caught in the 1980s. The resource and
output have been depleted dramatically in Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China
Sea since the early 1990s due to overfishing, and the fishing has even disappeared
during recent years. Studies on culture of S� japonica have become an imperative
task to resource restocking and protection.
14.2 Broodstock Acclimatization to Captivity
S� japonica broodstock are captured by traps along the coastal waters of Fujian
Province during March and April every year, and then transported alive to the nursery factory directly for maintenance. Meanwhile, egg clusters can be collected from
the same area, and transported directly indoors for hatching and cultivation.
Big and vigorous S� japonica individuals with well-matured gonads should be
selected as broodstock, and be transported to the indoor rearing pools for life-cycle culture, including broodstock maintenance, spawning and hatching, nursing of
juveniles, ongrowing and post-spawning natural dying. For hatchling rearing and
ongrowing, 1–10 m
2
round or rectangular concrete pools can be used. The entire
X.-D. Zheng et al.
Yamamoto 1982; Wu and Tang 1990; Dong 1993; Zhang et al. 1997, 2001, 2005,
2010; Wu et al. 2010).
The major stocks of S� japonica live in warm water. Fishing season comes earlier
in the south than in the north: February–March in Guangdong and Fujian provinces
in the South China Sea, April–June in Zhejiang Province in the East China Sea and
June–July in Shandong Province in the Yellow Sea. Breeding migration starts in
spring from the deep waters to shallow waters. The breeding sites are around the
islands close to the open seas with clear water, gentle current, high salinity and convergence of Kuroshio Current and coastal waters (Dong 1988).
The time of breeding migration is related to the movement of the isotherm. The
appropriate water temperature for spawning population in the northern East China
Sea is 18–22 °C. They mate and lay eggs along the island and reefs. The eggs are
oval, with flat and forked stalk with which the eggs are attached onto substrates
such as bamboo, tree branches, plastic rope, wire, straw, coral and seaweeds. S�
japonica attaches one egg to the substratum and then winds the egg onto the fixed
stalk and continues winding in the same manner to make a string of up to 200 eggs
like grapes, hence the nickname ‘sea grape’ referring to the egg clusters by the fishermen. The eggs require 28–35 days of development before hatching at the temperature of 20–26 °C. The juvenile can live in 10–30 °C, and can adapt to a wide range
of salinity within 20–35 psu, while the adults live in salinity of 30–35 psu generally.
With 92 % of its body being edible, S� japonica is delicious and nutritious, and
rich in protein, vitamins and trace elements (Wang and Wang 2008). Meanwhile, it
is a popular traditional dish of Chinese people, and can be canned or dehydrated for
market. Most of the catch is marketed as ‘shiriyakeika’ in Japan.
S� japonica is the dominant species of cuttlefish in China, and its output has been
up to 60 % of the total amount of cephalopods caught in the 1980s. The resource and
output have been depleted dramatically in Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China
Sea since the early 1990s due to overfishing, and the fishing has even disappeared
during recent years. Studies on culture of S� japonica have become an imperative
task to resource restocking and protection.
14.2 Broodstock Acclimatization to Captivity
S� japonica broodstock are captured by traps along the coastal waters of Fujian
Province during March and April every year, and then transported alive to the nursery factory directly for maintenance. Meanwhile, egg clusters can be collected from
the same area, and transported directly indoors for hatching and cultivation.
Big and vigorous S� japonica individuals with well-matured gonads should be
selected as broodstock, and be transported to the indoor rearing pools for life-cycle culture, including broodstock maintenance, spawning and hatching, nursing of
juveniles, ongrowing and post-spawning natural dying. For hatchling rearing and
ongrowing, 1–10 m
2
round or rectangular concrete pools can be used. The entire