Species: Raja microocellata (Small-eyed skate)
Justification
The Smalleyed Ray (Raja microocellata) is restricted primarily to the Atlantic coasts of
Northwest Europe, from Gibraltar to the British Isles, although it has also been recorded further south, to Western Sahara, northwestern Africa. It is found on the continental shelf, mostly at
<100 m depth. The range of this skate is smaller than many of the more common European skates and rays. It favours sandy bays and is only recorded as abundant at a few sites (e.g.,
Bristol Channel, UK and Bertheaume Bay, France). Raja microocellata is taken as bycatch in trawl and set net fisheries, with most landings from the Bristol Channel and is commercially important for ports in parts of southern England. Given its restricted and patchy, fragmented geographical distribution and localised abundance local populations may potentially be vulnerable to declines caused by over-fishing, habitat degradation and other anthropogenic disturbance. This species is assessed as Near Threatened on the basis of suspected declines approaching 30%, as a result of high levels of exploitation, close to meeting the criteria for Vulnerable A4d. Fishery independent data for mature R. microocellata are limited and careful monitoring of populations of this species is required to determine accurate population trends of mature individuals.
Geographic range
The Smalleyed Ray is restricted primarily to the Atlantic coasts of Northwest Europe, from the
British Isles southwards to Gibraltar and northwestern Africa (Morocco and Western Sahara)
(Stehmann and Bürkel 1989) and is most abundant in bays and other inshore sandy areas.
Although occasional specimens of Small-eyed skate are caught in the Irish Sea, the main concentration of this species is in the Bristol Channel (Ellis et al. 2005b), with some larger individuals occurring in the slightly deeper waters of the Celtic Sea (ICES 2012). There are also localized concentrations in parts of the western English Channel, such as around Jersey (Ellis et al. 2011), and in some inshore areas of Ireland. It is unclear as to whether the population in the
English Channel overlaps with that of the western English Channel (Ellis et al. 2011). The species also occurs less frequently in the eastern English Channel, while surveys across UK territorial waters found no individuals in the North Sea (Ellis et al. 2005a). Small-eyed skate has also been reported in French landings from the Bay of Biscay region (ICES 2012).
Population
Over much of its geographical range it is relatively rare, though it can be locally abundant in certain areas, for example smalleyed ray is one of the dominant rajids occurring in the Bristol
Channel (ICES division VIIf), Bertheaume Bay (Brittany) and south-eastern Ireland (Fahy and
O'Reilly 1990, Rousset 1990, Ellis et al. 2005a,b). No formal stock assessments have been undertaken for this species. The Smalleyed Ray?s geographic range is smaller than many of the more common European skates and rays. Furthermore there are certain areas where it is particularly abundant. For example, within UK waters it is only reported occasionally in the Irish
Sea and North Sea, caught in low numbers in the English Channel and is very abundant in the
Bristol Channel. Hence, this inshore species seems to have a fragmented population, possibly due to the fragmented nature of its favoured habitat. Catch rates in beam trawl surveys of the
Bristol Channel appear steady (Ellis et al. 2005b), though this is based on catch rates of all individuals. It is likely that the equipment used in this survey does not sample mature fish

effectively, and fishery-independent data for mature fish are limited.
The Bristol Channel stock of Small-eyed skate was considered to ‘show recent stability or increase’ (ICES 2008), although it was noted that this species has a patchy distribution (Ellis et al.
2011). It is unclear as to whether Small-eyed skate in the western English Channel is part of the
Bristol Channel stock or from a separate stock. The English and Welsh beam trawl survey in the
Bristol Channel mean CPUE of Small-eyed skate for 2010 and 2011 was slightly lower than the preceding years, though the overall trend since 1993 shows a slight increase [Page 400 or 420 of pdf, WGEF 2012, top right fig] (ICES 2012).
In the Great West Bay of the western English Channel, the mean number of Small-eyed skate caught per 30-minute trawl tow was low and highly variable between 1989 and 2010. Two peaks of approximately 0.12 individuals per tow were apparent in 1997 and 2010, while distinct troughs approximately 0.015 and zero individuals occurred in 1999 and 2008 respectively [Page
385 or 405 of pdf, WGEF 2012, Fig. 18.6 (c) - Adapted from Burt et al. (in prep.) ] .
French landings of Small-eyed skate from the Bay of Biscay region between 1999 and 2010 were very low, ranging from zero to three tons each year [Page 430/pdf450, WGEF 2012, Table 19.5]
(ICES 2012) . Meanwhile, Portuguese landings from Iberian waters ranged from 78 tons in 2003, to 105 tons in 2006, then 51 tons in 2009 [Page 431/pdf451, WGEF 2012, Table 19.5] . Landings per unit effort of Small-eyed skate by the trammel net fisheries in the Bay of Biscay and Iberian waters have increased between 2008 and 2011 [Page 457/pdf477, WGEF 2012, Fig. 19.7] .
Trend
Decreasing
Habitat & Ecology
Juveniles tend to occur in relatively shallow water, with larger individuals more abundant further from shore, though it is uncommon in waters more than 100m deep (Ellis et al. 2005a).
The Smalleyed Ray attains a maximum length of 91 cm total length (LT ) and begins to mature at
57.5?58 cm LT (Ryland and Ajayi 1984). The fecundity has been estimated at 54-61 eggs per year, with egg-laying activity peaking between June and September (Ryland and Ajayi 1984). Size at birth is approximately 10 cm TL (Ryland and Ajayi 1984).The feeding habits have been described for those populations inhabiting Carmarthen Bay (Ajayi 1977, 1982; Ellis unpublished) and the Cove of Bertheaume in Brittany (Rousset 1987) and it is known that they feed on a variety of crustaceans and teleosts (Fowler et al. 2005). Juveniles predate primarily on small shrimps and amphipods, with fishes (e.g., sand eels and dragonets) becoming more important in the diets of larger individuals.
The species occurs primarily along sandbanks and in sandy bays (Kaiser et al. 2004).
Male Small-eyed skate in Jersey waters in the western English Channel reached first maturity at
64 cm TL, while all male specimens greater than or equal to 77 cm TL were mature (Ellis et al.
2011). The length at 50% maturity calculated from this study was approximately 68 cm, which contrasts with the lengths of 70 cm and 100 cm reported by Dorel (1986). The smallest female from this study exuding egg cases from the cloaca was 75cm TL, though the maturity of females was not ascertainable.

From the groundfish surveys carried out in the North Sea, English Channel, Irish Sea, Bristol
Channel, and Celtic Sea, the smallest mature male and female Small-eyed skate observed were
66 cm and 73 cm, respectively, with a length at 50% maturity of 69.0 cm for males and 77.1 cm for females (McCully et al. 2012). The largest immature fish found during these surveys were 74 and 83 cm for males and females respectively.
Threats
Taken as a bycatch in trawl and set net fisheries, with most landings from the Bristol Channel
(ICES Division VIIf). R. microocellata is commercially important for ports in South Wales, Devon and Cornwall in the UK. Exploitation in areas further south is not known. Due to its restricted distribution, inshore habitats and overall scarcity, albeit with areas of localised abundance, it may be at risk from overfishing and habitat disturbance. Sand banks in the Bristol Channel (UK) are regularly dredged to supply the aggregate industry and the potential consequences of this activity on R. microocellata are unknown (Fowler et al. 2005).
Landings of Small-eyed skate from the North Sea as reported by France are likely resultant of misidentification or incorrect use of species codes. Furthermore, landings of Leucoraja circularis
(Sandy skate) reported by Belgium from the western English Channel are unlikely, and could therefore have been Small-eyed skate as both species are known as ‘sandy skate’ (ICES 2012).
It is unclear as to whether current exploitation levels of Small-eyed skate in the Celtic Seas are sustainable or not (ICES 2012).
Conservation Actions
There is a minimum landing size of 40 cm for skates and rays caught in the inshore waters of
South Wales. Though there are no species-specific management measures, they may benefit from more generic management measures for demersal fisheries (e.g., mesh size regulations).
Regulation (EU) No 605/2013 of the European parliament, amending European Commission
Regulation No. 1185/2003, advises, “that all elasmobranch species should be landed with their fins/wings naturally attached to their bodies.”
Since 2008, the European Commission has obliged member states to provide species-specific landings data for the major North Sea species, including Small-eyed skate, in order to improve understanding of skate stocks in the area (CEC 2008). In 2009, this obligation was extended to other ICES divisions, including the Celtic Seas (CEC 2009), and has been ongoing since 2008 (CEC
2013a).
For 2013, TACs for skates and rays – that is, all species falling within the order Rajiformes – were stipulated 15% lower than those set in 2012, which were similarly lower than those in 2011
(Table 1) (CEC 2013b), in line with the increasing availability of evidence for their vulnerability to overexploitation.
Zone
Norwegian Sea &
North Sea (IIa, IV)
2011
1,397
2012
1,395
2013
1,256
Skagerrak and
Kattegat (IIIa)
58 58 52

West Scotland,
Rockall, Irish Sea,
West Ireland,
Porcupine Bank,
Western English
Channel, Bristol
Channel, Southeast
Ireland, Little Sole,
Great Sole, West
Great Sole (VIab, VIIac, VIIe-k)
Eastern English
Channel (VIId)
Bay of Biscay, North and Northwest Spain,
Portuguese coast,
West Portugal (VIII,
IX)
Opano 3LNO
TOTAL (T)
11,379
887
4,640
12,000
30,361
9,915
887
4,222
8,500
24,977
8,924
798
3,800
7,000
21,830
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