Flapper skate
Dipturus intermedius · Rays and skates
Also called common skate, skate
A protected species. If you catch one, handle it carefully and put it back alive.
The largest skate in Europe, once called common skate and now rare, with strongholds on the Scottish west coast. Critically endangered, and commercial fishing for it has been illegal since 2009. Anglers must release it alive.[1]
How to recognise it
- A huge skate, over 2 m long. Long, pointed snout and a disc with a deeply concave front edge.[2]
- Dark olive-green back with small pale spots when young, turning greyish-brown with age. The iris is olive green; on the blue skate it is yellowish.[2]
- A single row of 12 to 18 thorns on the midline of the tail. Each fish has its own pattern of spots on the back, which researchers use to tell individuals apart.[3]
Sources
- Scottish Wildlife Trust: Safeguarding Scotland's critically endangered flapper skate
- FishBase: Dipturus intermedius
- NatureScot: Scotland's anglers urged to help save critically endangered fish
These notes are a draft: we gathered them from the sources above and are still checking them. We don't work out best times for this fish yet. The size rules come from the same checked byelaws as every other fish.