Scientists from Munster Technological University (MTU) have been involved in a joint research study of two flapper skate, a critically endangered species, which were washed ashore on the Mayo coast last month (May).
The Flapper skate Dipturus intermedius is the largest skate species in the world, and it can reach up to 2.5 metres in length.
The fish is classified as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and at risk of extinction.
The flapper skate is said to be particularly at risk to any population declines as it is slow growing, late to mature and slow to reproduce – taking a considerable time to recover from any population losses.
Females only reach maturity between 7 and 26 years of age and produce as few as 40 eggs per year, which develop for 18 months before finally hatching one individual skate.
The stranding, reported by members of the public and relayed to the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group’s stranding network, presented a “rare opportunity for marine researchers to collect essential data on one of the most threatened elasmobranch species in Europe”, MTU says.
Marine scientists, including Louise Overy, Wildlife Biology Lecturer at MTU and Vice Chair of the Irish Elasmobranch Group (IEG), collaborated with Dr Catherine Waters and Alan Drumm of the Marine Institute, and Dr Danielle Orrell of University College Cork (UCC) to analyse the individuals.
"The recent stranding of these two skates presents a unique opportunity to gather samples and insight into these incredible animals found in Irish waters,” Dr Orrell, a UCC marine biologist who helped to coordinate the dissection, said.
The dissections were done at MTU’s field laboratory with analysis conducted by researchers from the Marine Institute, UCC and MTU.
A range of biological samples and measurements were collected, contributing to regional and national datasets.
“The study adds to the conservation efforts for the species that are being undertaken, including mark-recapture and electronic tagging to identify their distribution and space use,”MTU says.
