Small-eyed ray
Raja microocellata · Rays and skates
Also called painted ray
A small ray of clean sand and shingle banks, caught from beaches on the south and west coasts, especially the Bristol Channel and English Channel.[1]
How to recognise it
- The eyes are small. If the gap between the eyes is more than twice the distance from an eye to its spiracle (the breathing hole behind it), it is a small-eyed ray.[2]
- Very short snout and wings that meet almost at right angles. The spines on the tail and mid-back sit close together and bend at right angles.[2]
- Grey-brown back with large off-white patches and streaks that run parallel to the wing edges. There are no thorns between the two dorsal fins.[3]
When and where
- Season
- Mar–Nov[1]
- Found over
- sand, sandbanks, gravel[1]
- Baits
- sandeel, mackerel strip, squid[1]
- Tide
- One Bristol Channel angler fishes the flooding tide as it covers offshore sandbanks that dried out at low water.[1]
From the shore most are caught from spring to autumn; offshore, some are caught all year.[1]
Sources
- Fishing Wales: Welsh ray fishing, five species to fish for
- Sea Angler: Know your fish, small-eyed ray
- FishBase: Raja microocellata
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.