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According to a recent study, cuttlefish are the most intelligent invertebrates. This species has been termed the ‘chameleon of the sea’ due to its ability to camouflage, but ironically, it is colour blind. Mauritania cuttlefish get caught for food. They can be consumed dried, shredded, fried or grilled. They are also used to make metal casts for metals like gold. The longer living ones are kept as pets. 

The Mauritania cuttlefish is of the order sepiida. The Greek and Latin referred to it as sepia given its reddish-brown colour. And this word has since been added to the English dictionary to mean the same. Their first fossils were found during the Crustaceous period. Miocene Epoch is where the modern cuttlefish first appeared.

Cuttlefish have eight arms and an internal shell called cuttlebone that is unique hence the name given to the fish. The origin of the word cuttlefish is the Old English name given for the cuttle part; ‘cudele’. This is similar to that of the Old Norse and the Middle Low German as well. Cuttlefish have two tentacles that they use to feed on smaller molluscs, worms and octopus but are also predated on by sea birds and bigger fish.

They range 15-24 cm in length, have W shaped pupils and an incredible ability to learn and remember because of their enormous brain.

Mauritania cuttlefish are mainly fished along Cape Blanc, which is on the west coast of Africa. Mauritania has an annual 600,000 tons potential catch. This fishing has a 5% contribution to the country’s GDP, and more than a billion dollars’ worth of fish gets netted each year.

Sierra hierredda is also known as the giant African cuttlefish. As the name suggests, it is a giant species with the ability to grow to a length of up to 500mm and reach 7.5kg in weight. 

The fish breeds both in spring and summer; hence its availability is high around February, which is early in the year until September. It has a life span of 24 months. The Mauritania water environment favours this species as it prefers waters above 50m in depth. Typically, cuttlefish occupy tropical and temperate waters. 

The use of Spanish trawlers does fishing for cuttlefish. Sometimes the fishers use traps that instead of baits, have live female cuttlefish so, during the breeding season, the male cuttlefish enters the pot without knowledge. The cuttlefish are then frozen and packed in 20kg or 30kg cartons or reefer containers of specified heights. During shipping, the cuttlefish get maintained at a -18°c temperature.

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