v
Preface
Cephalopods—octopuses, squids, cuttlefishes and nautiluses—are arguably the
most intelligent, and perhaps charismatic, invertebrates on the planet. They occur
in all the world’s oceans, from the intertidal areas to the deep sea. But, why culture
cephalopods? For food, is the instinctive answer—high growth rates and short life
spans make cephalopods ideal candidates for commercial aquaculture since they
have the potential to rapidly reach market size.
However, as ‘Cephalopod Culture’ makes clear, the reasons for culturing cephalopods are more varied. Cephalopod species have been used as model organisms in
neurobiology since the early twentieth century: they were, for example, the ‘lab rat’
for the Nobel Prize winning work of Alan L. Hodgkin and Andrew F. Huxley on the
initiation and propagation of nerve impulses. Also, as their position as a neurological model was cemented, it became scientifically important in the latter half of the
twentieth century to perfect small scale cephalopod culture protocols. At the same
time, the world fishery potential for cephalopods was being realised, with world
catches rising eight-fold as many finfish stocks declined.
However, some cephalopod stocks are now overfished, and others are at
maximum potential: can large commercial scale culture of cephalopods provide
a solution? ‘Cephalopod Culture’ draws on the expertise of nearly 50 cephalopod
researchers from across four continents to provide a thorough scientific reference
on the state of the art of cephalopod culture today. Tracing the history of cephalopod culture, this book provides a wealth of information on the constraints and
bottlenecks in the culturing process, paying particular attention to the problems
of feeding planktonic early life stages, whose complex behaviours and nutritional
requirements require the provision of live prey.
The diversity of cephalopods, and their wide variation in life history strategies
(eggs of some species hatch to relatively large benthic ‘miniature adults’ whilst
other species hatch to planktonic stages just a few millimetre in length), means
that species have unique culture needs. This is where ‘Cephalopod Culture’ excels.
With 16 chapters dedicated to in-depth culturing methods for particular species,
this book provides a laboratory manual that distils all the recently published research on each species, as well as detailing system requirements and management.
These chapters, written by experts in cephalopod culture, are an essential read for
Preface
Cephalopods—octopuses, squids, cuttlefishes and nautiluses—are arguably the
most intelligent, and perhaps charismatic, invertebrates on the planet. They occur
in all the world’s oceans, from the intertidal areas to the deep sea. But, why culture
cephalopods? For food, is the instinctive answer—high growth rates and short life
spans make cephalopods ideal candidates for commercial aquaculture since they
have the potential to rapidly reach market size.
However, as ‘Cephalopod Culture’ makes clear, the reasons for culturing cephalopods are more varied. Cephalopod species have been used as model organisms in
neurobiology since the early twentieth century: they were, for example, the ‘lab rat’
for the Nobel Prize winning work of Alan L. Hodgkin and Andrew F. Huxley on the
initiation and propagation of nerve impulses. Also, as their position as a neurological model was cemented, it became scientifically important in the latter half of the
twentieth century to perfect small scale cephalopod culture protocols. At the same
time, the world fishery potential for cephalopods was being realised, with world
catches rising eight-fold as many finfish stocks declined.
However, some cephalopod stocks are now overfished, and others are at
maximum potential: can large commercial scale culture of cephalopods provide
a solution? ‘Cephalopod Culture’ draws on the expertise of nearly 50 cephalopod
researchers from across four continents to provide a thorough scientific reference
on the state of the art of cephalopod culture today. Tracing the history of cephalopod culture, this book provides a wealth of information on the constraints and
bottlenecks in the culturing process, paying particular attention to the problems
of feeding planktonic early life stages, whose complex behaviours and nutritional
requirements require the provision of live prey.
The diversity of cephalopods, and their wide variation in life history strategies
(eggs of some species hatch to relatively large benthic ‘miniature adults’ whilst
other species hatch to planktonic stages just a few millimetre in length), means
that species have unique culture needs. This is where ‘Cephalopod Culture’ excels.
With 16 chapters dedicated to in-depth culturing methods for particular species,
this book provides a laboratory manual that distils all the recently published research on each species, as well as detailing system requirements and management.
These chapters, written by experts in cephalopod culture, are an essential read for