Size at First Maturity of Cuttlefish, Sepia latimanus, from North Sulawesi Waters, Indonesia

摘要

Biological overfishing could occur from either excessive and immature individual exploitation or habitat destruction. This study was aimed to estimate size at first maturity of cuttlefish, Sepia latimanus , collected from North Sulawesi waters. All samples were measured and observed their maturity level. Based on these data, the dorsal mantle length (DML) at first maturity was assessed for minimum legal size determination. Results showed that the cuttlefish samples had maturity level range from immature to post-spawning conditions, while the size at first maturity was estimated as 16 cm DML. Maximum DML was estimated as 55.53 cm and growth coefficient as 0.248. The deviation of mean DML from maximum dorsal length was also considered to see the population condition.