Abstract
Conditions for transporting live young and subadults of the squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana were investigated in a laboratory experiment and transport trial. In the lab experiment, survival was examined for various seawater conditions and transport procedures. The quality of the water containing the squid decreased (pH<7.0, ammonia to 5.0 mg/L) and temperature decreased (range>4°C) after 24 h, but 12 of 33 examined squid (body weight (BW) 5.0-877 g) survived these changes. Squid survival was high when the BW: seawater volume ratio started below 30. Also, survival was higher in large containers such as a styrofoam box with large (>1620 cm2) bottom area. Based on these criteria, 24 squid (BW<50-441 g) were transported by express delivery from Tokushima Prefecture to Saitama Prefecture (ca 740 km apart, transport duration 22-23 h); 20 of these squid survived the transport. When transferring the squid to an aquarium, special attention must be paid to acclimating the squid to the tank. Squid with a short (<1 h) acclimation period died soon after transfer to the aquaria, but those with a longer (>2 h) acclimation period survived the transfer.
