TY - JOUR

T1 - A ray of hope? The re-appearance of Irish Sea skate decades after local extinction

AU - Moore, Alec

PY - 2023/6

Y1 - 2023/6

N2 - A 2019 photograph of a blue skate Dipturus batis caught in Welsh waters is the first species-specific evidence of the ‘common skate’ complex occurring in former range in the main body of the Irish Sea over four decades after it was considered to have been extirpated there. This possible precursor to recolonisation of former range adds to growing evidence for the recovery of skate species in the North Atlantic, and highlights the valuable role of anglers and social media as a complement to important yet costly scientific surveys when monitoring rare fishes.

AB - A 2019 photograph of a blue skate Dipturus batis caught in Welsh waters is the first species-specific evidence of the ‘common skate’ complex occurring in former range in the main body of the Irish Sea over four decades after it was considered to have been extirpated there. This possible precursor to recolonisation of former range adds to growing evidence for the recovery of skate species in the North Atlantic, and highlights the valuable role of anglers and social media as a complement to important yet costly scientific surveys when monitoring rare fishes.

KW - conservation

KW - Elasmobranch

KW - Extinction

KW - fisheries

KW - Irish sea

KW - species recovery

U2 - 10.1111/jfb.15385

DO - 10.1111/jfb.15385

M3 - Article

VL - 102

SP - 1503

EP - 1505

JO - Journal of Fish Biology

JF - Journal of Fish Biology

SN - 0022-1112

IS - 6

ER -