Abstract
This two-year study evaluates the effects of new management strategies directed at helping the recovery of Adriatic cuttlefish populations. The ability of three specially developed artificial spawning devices–seagrass collectors (SC; deployed on artificial reefs), longline collectors (LC; deployed at mussel farms), and trap collectors (TC; delivered to 19 professional and 54 recreational trap fishermen together with a dedicated logbook)–to attract egg deposition was tested. All devices were provided with a polyethylene floating rope 8 mm in diameter that served as a collector for egg deposition. Total rope length was 1,440 m in SC (2,880 segments of 0.5 m), 250 m in LC (500 segments of 0.5 m), and 250 m in TC (10 m per trap). Although the sites where SC and LC were deployed were sheltered from the action of destructive fishing gears, heavy winter storms destroyed the SC after a year. Most recreational fishermen and none of the professional fishermen provided detailed information on percent egg coverage on their collectors. The collectors attached to the three devices proved highly suitable for cuttlefish spawning, collecting more than 500,000 eggs on 2,440 m of rope. The analysis of egg diameter distribution suggested three laying events during the spawning season. The logbook data showed that egg number peaked in June. The present approach, combining habitat reconstruction and participatory research, has the potential to contribute to the recovery of cuttlefish stocks in the framework of a broader management plan.
Highlights
The common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) is native to the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Atlantic, but inhabits a very wide range spanning from the Baltic and the North Sea to the waters around South Africa
According to a recent Italian Agriculture Ministry census, ca. 650,000 recreational and sport fishermen operate in the Adriatic Sea; even though recreational fishing is governed by national regulations, its catches are not subject to reporting and are not included in national data collection and stock assessment programmes [7]
This is the first study assessing the effects of a new management strategy aimed at fostering the recovery of cuttlefish stocks in the Adriatic Sea
Summary
The common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) is native to the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Atlantic, but inhabits a very wide range spanning from the Baltic and the North Sea to the waters around South Africa. S. officinalis is an important commercial resource in the Mediterranean Sea and especially in the Adriatic, where it is intensively exploited with bottom otter trawls, “rapido” (beam) trawls, trammel nets, fyke nets, and traps depending on its spatial and temporal distribution patterns [4,5]. It is an important target species of recreational fisheries, which use traps and squid jigs [6]. According to a recent Italian Agriculture Ministry census, ca. 650,000 recreational and sport fishermen operate in the Adriatic Sea (https://www.politicheagricole.it); even though recreational fishing is governed by national regulations, its catches are not subject to reporting and are not included in national data collection and stock assessment programmes [7]
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