Growth performance and nutritional composition of Sepia pharaonis under artificial culturing conditions

This study investigated the growth performance and nutritional composition of scale artificially cultured cuttlefish Sepia pharaonis. Juveniles were cultured in an open‐culturing cement pool system for 120 days. The body weight increased from 10.21 ± 1.44 g to 570.71 ± 126.32 g from 50 days old to 170 days old, and the average growth rate was 4.67%. The proximate, amino acid and fatty acid compositions of S. pharaonis muscles were analysed every 40 days to compare the quality. The cultured S. pharaonis were rich in essential amino acids (EAAs), functional amino acids (FAAs), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which accounted for 32%, 46%, 28% and 54% (dry weight) respectively. Total amino acids (TAAs) and EAAs exhibited a clear distinction between ages, and significant differences were observed among the levels of individual amino acids, including Pro, Ala, Asp and Lys, which were significantly higher at 130–170 days old than at 50 days old (p < 0.05). Although the total saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids and PUFAs were statistically similar between ages, C17:0, C22:6 n‐3 and PUFAs were higher at 130–170 days old than at 50 days old (p < 0.05). The results indicate that large‐scale artificial culture of S. pharaonis can be achieved under the conditions of a cement pool. This study also provides new information regarding the growth performance and nutritional composition of cultured S. pharaonis, which will contribute to the development of aquaculture practices for this species.