Landings Composition of the Northeast U.S. Skate, Rajidae, Wing Fishery and the Effectiveness of Prohibited Species Regulations

The skate (Rajidae) fishery off of the northeastern United States is managed as a stock complex of seven species. However, landings have not been reliably reported by species, hindering stock assessments and effective species-level management. This study was designed to characterize regional and interannual variation in the species composition of landings in the skate wing fishery. Port samplers were trained to properly identify skate wings landed at regional seafood dealers. Of the 92,833 skate wings sampled between 2005 and 2012 at ports in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, over 98% were identified as belonging to winter skate, Leucoraja ocellata. The wings of thorny skate, Amblyraja radiata, and barndoor skate, Dipturus laevis, both prohibited species, comprised the remainder of the sampled landings. While illegal landings of prohibited skates were more prevalent in Gulf of Maine ports, compliance with the prohibitions improved during the study period, possibly due to NMFS outreach efforts. These results demonstrate the relative effectiveness of species prohibitions in the skate fishery and may help improve stock assessments for skates.