Population ecology and juvenile density hotspots of thornback ray (Raja clavata) around the Shetland Islands, Scotland

Elasmobranchs are facing global decline, and so there is a pressing need for research into their populations to inform effective conservation and management strategies. Little information exists on the population ecology of skate species around the British Isles, presenting an important knowledge ga...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of fish biology 2024-03, Vol.104 (3), p.576-589
Main Authors: McAllister, Mia, Fraser, Shaun, Henry, Lea‐Anne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Benthos collecting devices
Biodiversity hot spots
Catch per unit effort
Composition
Conservation
Density
Ecology
elasmobranchs
Fish
Fisheries
Habitats
Hot spots
Islands
Juveniles
Marine fishes
nurseries
Population ecology
Population studies
Raja clavata
Rajidae
Shetland Islands
Size distribution
Spatial distribution
Stock assessment
Surveys
thornback ray
Variance analysis
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Summary:Elasmobranchs are facing global decline, and so there is a pressing need for research into their populations to inform effective conservation and management strategies. Little information exists on the population ecology of skate species around the British Isles, presenting an important knowledge gap that this study aimed to reduce. The population ecology of thornback ray (Raja clavata) around the Shetland Islands, Scotland, was investigated in two habitats: inshore (50–150 m deep) and shallow coastal (20–50 m deep), from 2011 to 2022, and 2017 to 2022, respectively. Using trawl survey data from the annual Shetland Inshore Fish Survey, the size composition of R. clavata catches was compared between shallow and inshore habitats across 157 trawl sets, and 885 individuals, over the years 2017–2022. Catch per unit effort (CPUE) of R. clavata was significantly higher in shallow than that in inshore areas (ANOVA, F = 72.52, df = 1, 5, p 
ISSN:0022-1112
1095-8649
DOI:10.1111/jfb.15610