Present status of the French Atlantic fishery for cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis)

Fishery statistics for the period 1989-1996 indicates that cuttlefish (Sepi a officinalis Linnaeus, 1758) is the main cephalopod resource exploited by the French fishery, Most cuttlefish landings come from demersal trawlers, w hile artisanal coastal trap net catches appear to be a minor component of c uttlefish fishing. Fishery statistics from all available databases were ana lysed to (a) evaluate the quality of the original data (b) describe pattern s in the fishery and (c) relate these results to the biology and abundance of cuttlefish. GIS tools were used to analyse spatial patterns in catches o f the different components of the fleet and to relate this to landings per harbour. Apart from a decline early in summer, landings of the whole fleer look rather constant throughout the year. However, at a smaller spatial sca le. seasonal trends are observed, which are in agreement with the migration patterns and life-cycle characteristics described in this species. Because French trawler fishing operates throughout the year and in all cuttlefish fishing areas, records from this fishing fleet collected at the ICES rectan gle level can provide abundance indices (landings per unit of effort). (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.