Reproductive Biology of Sepia pharaonis Ehrenberg, 1831(Cephalopoda: Sepioidea) from the Suez Gulf (Red Sea), Egypt.

Riad, Rafik; ELebiary, Noha; Halim, Youssef; Atta, Manal

doi:10.21608/ejabf.2015.2279

Reproductive Biology of Sepia pharaonis Ehrenberg, 1831(Cephalopoda: Sepioidea) from the Suez Gulf (Red Sea), Egypt.

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Marine Environment Division, National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (NIOF), Alexandria Branch, Egypt.

² Oceanography Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Egypt

10.21608/ejabf.2015.2279

Abstract

Reproductive biology of males and females of Sepia phraonis were investigated from samples obtained from commercial catch caught by local fishermen using trawling nets. The samples were seasonally collected (individuals) between winter
2014 to autumn 2014. The results of sex ratio indicated that females outnumbered males. The mean size at first maturity was 7cm and8.6cm dorsal mantel length (ML) for males and females respectively Based upon morphological features of the gonads and nidamental gland color change in female, five and four maturity stages for males
and females were described, respectively. Depending on the proportion of each maturity stage, as well as various maturity indices (gonado-somatic index, G.S.I and nidamental-somatic index, N.S.I) the spawning season was found to take place during spring and summer and sometimes extends to autumn. So, it is recommended to reduce fishing activity during these periods.

Keywords

Main Subjects