Abstract
The mantis shrimp Squilla mantis is a crustacean Stomatopod of the family of the Squillidae. This specie is found in high densities in areas with suitable burrowing substrates in the Mediterranean Sea. The objectives of the present study were to characterize the distribution and the abundance of the spot-tail mantis shrimp caught in Tunisian waters. The Spot-tail mantis shrimp is exploited in this area and it is still considered as a bycatch, but its abundance makes it important for fisheries. Information about distribution, abundance and size composition of the Squilla mantis were obtained from trawl surveys, carried out in the Tunisian Gulfs monthly for a period of two years. A total of 643 hauls were made and 22,878 specimens were captured. This study shows that this mantis shrimp is very abundant in the Tunisian waters, especially in the Gulf of Tunis, Hammamet and Gabes. S. mantis has a wide geographic distribution, since it was collected in all the major areas investigated, but differences were highlighted among the geographic sectors sampled. Maximum abundances occur shallower than 50 m depth. The values of the catches vary seasonally, the highest of which occurring in summer and autumn. Adults disappeared from the population during winter whereas females do not exit their burrow during incubation. The variability of the catches is due to the effect of several factors such as the effect of month, season, depth, hour, luminosity, weather... This specie is more closely related to crustaceans, cephalopods and benthic fish’s. According to the depth, no variation in length distributions of Squilla mantis is observed. The fact that egg-bearing females do not exit their burrow during incubation makes the catch ability lower during day-time. Trawling as well is not permitted shallower than 50 m in the Tunisian waters which may protect these species from fishing.
Highlights
Fishery of the Spot-tail Mantis Shrimp (Fig.1), Squilla mantis (L., 1758) is found in the Mediterranean waters and in the adjacent Atlantic where this species has been reported from the Gulf of Cadiz and from the Canary Islands and Madeira, its southernmost distribution being Angola (Maynou et al 2005)
The Spot-tail mantis shrimp is exploited in this area and it is still considered as a bycatch, but its abundance makes it important for fisheries
The present paper aims at contributing to the distribution, abundance and effects of specials and considering to the environmental factors in the catches of Squilla mantis collected by means of professional trawl surveys carried out with a common methodology in a wide area of the Tunisian Gulfs: Gabes, Hammamet and Tunis
Summary
Fishery of the Spot-tail Mantis Shrimp (Fig.1), Squilla mantis (L., 1758) is found in the Mediterranean waters and in the adjacent Atlantic where this species has been reported from the Gulf of Cadiz and from the Canary Islands and Madeira, its southernmost distribution being Angola (Maynou et al 2005) It is the only stomatopod crustacean commercially exploited in the Mediterranean and it is regularly found in the fish markets of Spain, Italy, Egypt, France and Morocco (Abelló and Martín, 1993). This Mantis Shrimp is found in high densities in areas with suitable burrowing substrates: fine sand and sandy mud, especially where the influence of river run-off is important (Atkinson et al, 1997). This species is subject to intense fishing activity carried out mainly by various gears such as trawl, baited traps, trammel nets and grill nets
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