 Like other members of its family, the nursehound is oviparous. Known breeding grounds include the River Fal estuary and Wembury Bay in England, and a number of coastal sites around the Italian Peninsula, in particular the Santa Croce Bank in the Gulf of Naples. Adults move into shallow water in the spring or early summer, and mate only at night. The eggs are deposited in the shallows from March to October. Although a single female produces 77 – 109 oocytes per year, not all of these are ovulated and estimates of the actual number of eggs laid range from 9 to 41. The eggs mature and are released two at a time, one from each oviduct. Each egg is enclosed in a thick, dark brown case measuring 10 – 13 cm (3.9 – 5.1 in) long and 3.5 cm (1.4 in) wide. There are tendrils at the four corners, that allow the female to secure the egg cases to bunches of seaweed (usually Cystoseira spp. or Laminaria saccharina).
