Are Scottish tope shark stocks in decline and will we ever see any rays again?
These are two of the questions facing Scottish fisheries managers following the Scotish Sea Angling Coinservation Network‘s (SSSACN) third annual Sharkatag in the Sollqay Firth.
For the third year in a row, the numbers of tope caught declined and no rays, other than thornbacks, were caught – not a single cuckoo, blonde or spotted ray.
Sharkatag, held annually in South West Scotland, is the premier shark tagging event run in SSACN’s Scottish Shark Tagging Programme. Last weekend, it once again received terrific support with anglers coming from all over the UK and fishing from over 50 boats and over 20 kayaks – yes, kayaks. See it, Believe it.
As ususal, whilst there were many tagging stalwarts at the event, a good number of newcomers to the sport and to Sharkatag turned up and were welcomed.
According to Willie Kennedy, who, with Stuart Cresswellf leads SSACN’s Events Organising Team: ‘On Friday expectation was high, the weather was reasonable, the tides were right but in terms of the number of fish caught, it was quite disappointing.
‘Saturday was equally difficult with the boats fishing off Ardwell having the most success.
‘Sadly the strong southerlies on Sunday made the day a washout – the first blown off day in the history of Sharkatag.’
But whatever the conditions, it didn’t dampen the spirits. One of this year’s newcomers, Alasdair Fyfe, said: ‘We had a fantastic time at Sharkatag 3. It was truly a remarkable time. I have to say a big thank you to everyone for all their help and advice during the 3 day event. Weather was not too brilliant but the atmosphere made up for the conditions. We are all looking forward to getting back out next year. Just cant wait. Thanks to you all.’
Following an initial analysis of the data, Ian Burrett, SSACN‘s Project Director highlighted a major concern: ‘Evidence from this and previous years Sharkatags seems to confirm the anecdotal evidence that tope numbers are continuing to fall on an annual basis. We cannot be sure whether this is down to overfishing on their wintering grounds or a change in their Northern migration route due to some factor or another.
‘Equally concerning is fact that while the data shows thornback ray stocks seem to be improving slightly, not one cuckoo, blonde or spotted ray has been caught. Twenty years ago these species were abundant in the region.
We need more research to find out why these fish are disappearing, but of course, funding is a major problem.’
In a recent press release, Cabinet Secretary for fisheries, Richard Lochhead said: ‘Protecting vulnerable marine species is crucially important. Some shark, skate and ray populations are critically endangered and already protected from commercial fishing. However, these species need additional protection and so Scotland intends to introduce a new protection order to help stock recovery.’
That the Cabinet Secretary sees this picture and is making this announcement is down to the independent research SSACN has done over the past few years and to its constant lobbying. It has presented and pressed the evidence for the substantial value of sea angling to the Scottish economy and of the need for research and ongoing monitoring of stocks to enable good fisheries management.
Thanks to all the volunteers who have put so much effort into catch-tag-release initiatives over the last 20 years or so, the findings of the Radford economic study and a substantial educational programme, the SSTP has been able to show that the recreational ‘shark’ fishery contributes around £60 million per annum to the Scottish economy and that anglers can continue to fish for those species – by catch and release – without impacting on stocks.
The photograph above shows Stuart Cresswell of SSACN’s Events Managemnt Team with a beautiful tope caught and released at Sharkatag 3 last week.