Levels of Sepiidae consumption are continuously increasing in a steep sense the last few decades. Many countries depend on them as a primary food source and fish, sell, and distribute them in huge quantities. Asian countries with great fishing economies, such as Japan, are giant consumers of Sepiidae. Bigger cuttlefish are more numerous, and so there is a demand for smaller cuttlefish. This is also due to their low fat high protein composition when compared to the larger ones. In attempts to prevent drastic reduction in Sepiidae levels from overfishing, aquaculturing, reproducing organisms in artificial man made environments, has been tailored to take advantage of their fast growth, easily recreated habitat conditions, and ability to be physically handled multiple times without serious effects. Aquaculture uses, in this case, high stocking densities with many organisms and it appears that the cuttlefish can survive in these
Sepiidae are highly valued for cuisine in countries such as Italy, Spain, Korea, and Japan. Sepiidae can be eaten, and their ink can be used to flavor food. Their bones are often used to make calcium supplements for animal pets such as dogs or parrots. Humans also harvest sepiidae ink for homeopathic medicinal uses. The sepiidae are not currently endangered, but increased human harvesting for food and medicinal purposes could prove to cause large population declines if it is paired with climate change or habitat loss. Despite their current heavy harvesting in the Mediterranian and other Asian Pacific waters, sepiidae have been listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of least concern. In order for the species to move up the scale of concern, there would likely have to be a substantial loss of biodiversity among them. Mechanisms by which this would be possible include overharvesting, as previously mentioned, habitat loss due to pollution, a harmful invasive introduced species, or further extreme climate change. As extinction is a natural process, these mechanisms would simply be speeding up the process, creating a bottleneck effect that would make the species more likely to become extinct. If the sepiidae did reach a high priority level on the IUCN’s red list, conservation methods would have to be put in place where goals of recreating sepiidae habitats, increasing species biodiversity, and therefore having a concern for species richness are top priorities.
Along with being a delicacy, the Sepiidae produce ink that is used for flavor in seafood and pasta. The ink can also serve as natural dye which was previously used to complete a number of literary works and many pieces of art. Since the ink has dark tones and dye like properties, the ink was used extensively among individuals. Some individuals have attempted to domesticate this species, however, the short life span of the organism and the carnivorous nature of them. They usually live in aquariums however will consume any other fish that is in the tank as well. With the attempt to domesticate these animals and them being used for meals, there is the concern of extinction as well. Increased fishing in the south coast has lead them to be put on endangered species watch. The bait that is used to fish for the Sepiidae is known as egi and imitate small fish or shrimp. After being harvested, the bones of the organism are also an excellent source of calcium and minerals for birds which help them with bone formation, blood clotting, and beak maintenance.
As there are no species naturally found near the coasts of Northern America, as Americans we don’t put the Sepiids as a very high priority individual in terms of conservation or protection. Therefore, protecting these now classified endangered species could be trickier than we had once initially thought. We could stick with our typical conservation approach and institute marine reserves, as they have proven to be useful in the conservation of many species as well as tools for biodiversity and fishery managements, but the marine reserves can only be useful if we know substantial information on habitat use and the connectivity of their subpopulations. As we might know plenty of information linked to this genre, knowing the movement patterns throughout the species’ environment is a crucial part of why marine reserves are successful. However, smaller marine reserves might not be as effective as we might hope. Therefore, awareness corporations are working with other researchers as well as fishermen and oddly enough some politicians to pursue the conservation of specific marine species. Sepiids have a wide variety of uses so protecting this species sooner rather than later can not only help the species directly but help the human race in providing resources without potentially damaging the ecosystems they inhabit.
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