Scientific name
Sepia officinalis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Morphology
Cuttlefish have an oval-shaped body covered with a skin that can change color abruptly under the action of their highly evolved brain. This cephalopod has an internal shell under the skin of the back: the famous cuttlebone. The cuttlefish has a fin all along its body. Its large head has two lateral eyes and hides a mouth with two mandibles, similar to those of a parrot beak. Around its mouth are ten tentacles carrying more or less voluminous suckers.
Fishing spots
Cuttlefish sometimes evolve in the rock but it is frequent that it buries itself half in the sediment on sandy, muddy or seaweed covered bottoms. It is fished in port areas, docks, rocky dykes, especially near the lights at night between the surface and mid-depth. Cuttlefish are often fished between 6 and 30 m depth.
Cuttlefish fishing techniques
From boats, cuttlefish are present from August onwards. From the shore, they are active as winter approaches in the harbor areas along the rocks, where they hunt mostly at night. If it attacks pieces of fish and soft lures, it should be targeted with a hard lure called a jig, which has a basket with multiple spikes to avoid stalling. When you hit it, reel it in continuously to avoid stalling. Beware the ink is indelible, once the cuttlefish the landing net, let it spit 2 or 3 jets of ink in the water before putting it dry from the edge as in boat.
Reproduction
During the breeding season in spring, cuttlefish move closer to the coast, they lay between 150 and 4000 eggs between June and July.
Size and weight
From an average of 15 to 25 cm (without tentacles), the size of the cuttlefish can reach 50 cm.
Good to know
Its method of hunting is formidable: jets of ink to blind the prey, seizure with the two long tentacles, injection of a venom then shredding by its horny jaws. Clear cuts in a soft lure or a livebait indicate the presence of cuttlefish!
