The thornback ray is the most abundant member of the skate family found in Cornish waters. It gets its name from numerous thorn like spines, which are modified ‘skin teeth’ on its upper surface and along the tail. Often marketed as skate wings.
One of the most abundant ray species in Cornish waters the thornback is a medium sized ray of the skate family growing to cm maximum length. Like all skates Its biology makes it vulnerable to over fishing as it grows slowly and produces a small number of large eggs (in egg cases known as mermaids purses) each year. Populations in the Bristol Channel are increasing and although poorly studied populations in the Celtic sea are showing signs of increasing and fishing effort is not considered to be too high, in the western channel stocks are stable but fishing effort is currently unknown(ICES 2014) There are issues with by catch in net fisheries for ray and with impact on the seabed with trawl fisheries.
Cornish boats landing to Cornish ports
Gill nets are lightweight nets made of nylon (monofilament) fishing line that are anchored to the seabed and are used to catch fish by entangling the gills.
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Demersal trawls are large nets that are pulled through the water with the bottom edge of the net touching the seabed. At each edge the net is pulled open by metal ‘trawl doors’. Sometimes referred to as Otter trawling.
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Beam trawls are nets attached to a steel beam that holds the net open. The belly of the net is made of chains and the upper surface of the net is mesh. Beam trawlers pull two nets along the seabed simultaneously.
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Cornwall Good Seafood Guide rates fish on sustainability using a scale of 1 to 5.
1, 2 and 3 are recommended, Fish to avoid are rated 5.
We use the system devised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) so our scores are comparable with the scores produced by MCS for the UK and fisheries from all around the world. For more information on scoring click here.
Thornback rays are an inshore species of skate and are the most common species in Cornish waters. They are medium sized with females growing up to 130cm in length. Thornback rays are known to return to a specific location in order to breed or feed. They are a relatively slow growing species that matures late and produces a relatively small number of eggs each year. Females can grow to 118cm in length and 18kg in weight, while males can reach 98cm in length. Females mature between 60 and 85cm while males mature between 60 and 77cm (in both cases corresponding to an age of 5 to 10 years). The species has a maximum recorded age of 16 years.
Cornwall Good Seafood Guide is underpinned by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Good Fish Guide. The first UK consumer guide to sustainable seafood. For more information visit www.fishonline.org
