Sex identification and biomass reconstruction from the cuttlebone of Sepia officinalis

Abstract

Significant differences were found between males and females in the fragmocone, external cone and widths of the cuttlebone in Sepia officinalis caught in the small-scale trap fishery off Gran Canaria Island (Spain). It is suggested that: (a) differences may depend on morphological adaptations of females for egg laying; (b) cuttlebones represent over the 50% of the total cuttlefish caught (which is unrecorded in the fishery); and (c) the relationships between several morphometric measures of the cuttlebone and the mantle length and wet weight may allow more accurate biomass estimations \nof this species in the fishery.