Why is it frowned upon to keep skate/rays these days?

[Gail]

I have been wondering this for a while. Sea Angler mag just jogged my memory. I used to eat Skate when I was a child. Apparently any ray was referred to as Skate by the fishmongers.
As far as I am aware they are quite prolific and certainly not endangered so why does everyone put them back?
I have never caught one but I'm not quite sure what I would do with it if I did. Thought I'd better ask beforehand.

[whitbydiver]

i think anglers put them back because u only eat the wings and the rest of the skate goes to waste,such a shame to kill such a gracefull creature just for its wings.
thats my theory anyway but it may well be wrong .
i hope this helps.
and good luck wi ur skate search.
screemin reels.
whitby

[manic_muppet]

Hi, my theory is simple, in the bad old days (last week i think it was) a lot of anglers did'nt just fish for sport, it was a cheap way of feeding the kids a few times a week. But over the years, things have changed, and most anglers fish mainly for the sport, consequently, a lot of fish have been classed as sport fish, and therefore get put back. Cheers..Mick
PS, thankfully i dont need to feed my kids, otherwise i would be in big trouble.

[andy1_i]

rays/skate/roker etc,was a favourite on the fishmongers slab some time ago,and therefore was quite extensively commercially fished,this reduced the numbers . and i think alot of the species take along time to reach breeding maturity,therefore numbers are only now starting to increase.so a CnR policy is looked upon as the correct thing to do.but i dont mind a bit of skate n chips once a year

all the best

Andy

[Gail]

Thanks for the replys guys, it does clarify things a bit. BTW whats a CNR policy?

[redmouse]

Thanks for the replys guys, it does clarify things a bit. BTW whats a CNR policy?

Catcn N' Release

[sniggle]

I think most anglers consider rays a difficult fish to prepare for the table so they put them back.
There is just as much waste when you fillet a cod with their gurt big heads but it is a simple job compared to skate.
I like a nice piece of skate fried in butter but do C&R egg laden females .

[baitdigger]

Keeping your catch is an individual choice and you should not be swayed by the opinions of others imho. If a fish is within minimum landing size and you want to eat it, keep it. I personally dont think you would be doing too much harm to the eco-system if you take the odd one now and then. If a fish is badly hooked or injured it may not survive release.

Having said that I return most of what I catch and never keep wrasse, ray huss or conger.

[Gail]

I shall bear all these points in mind and if I ever catch one I will decide what to do on the circumstances at the time. I must admit they do look quite cute, lol. I think if I did keep any it would only be very occaisonally.
Thanks.

[geordiesandman]

I shall bear all these points in mind and if I ever catch one I will decide what to do on the circumstances at the time. I must admit they do look quite cute, lol. I think if I did keep any it would only be very occaisonally.
Thanks.

i recon i'll only catch one occasionally...lol

[SeaSickSmiffy]

Ray meat is quite nice from memory. Once went out of Swansea on a chater way back in the days of studenthood. Had a 17lb thornback. The wings were really meaty apart from the thorns which probably should have removed before cooking.

The skipper also removed the cheek muscles which I remember to be 2 beautiful lumps of meat which I cooked deep fried in a bit of batter.

To be honest these days I'd probably put the rays back and stick to eating the mackerel and the "white" fish that appear.

[gynewguy]

Being a veggy I put all fish back. My choice and I don't go on preaching to people.
Even when I used to eat meat (20 years ago) I never ate fish.