Giant Australian Cuttlefish - Molluscs With An IQ

Attila Kaszo · Issue 84, May/Jun 2015 · pp. 45–48

Products mentioned: Nikon D800, Nauticam housing, 16-28 lens, Inon Z240

Whyalla in South Australia seems to be a hot spot when it comes to Cuttlefish aggregation. Visitors worldwide go there to see the Giant Australian Cuttlefish (Sepia apama) do their thing in huge numbers. This only occurs once a year and over the past few years numbers of these intriguing cephalopods have decreased significantly. A year ago it was thought they would never return as no sign of aggregation was recorded. The culprit was believed to have been a new desalination plant construction nearby. There was understandably an outcry from many quarters, but there weren’t the facts to back up the allegations. When I visited, numbers were certainly down on previous seasons according to some local divers, but still significant enough to present a spectacle to any underwater visitor. This season in 2015, it appears numbers are again back to previous high peak seasons. So an anomaly seems to …