Meet the Sharks

There are a number of Shark species which live around the Isle of Wight, some we commonly find evidence of i.e sightings by anglers + empty shark eggcases being washed up on the beach, here are a few you may find:

Rare:

Below are species which we have discovered evidence of in Bembridge + Sandown Bay’s Marine Conservation Zone, however we are not sure how big the population is, so they may be endangered locally and/or there are very few individuals living within the Bembridge Marine Conservation Zone or around the Isle of Wight.

Undulate Skate Ray Shark

Raja undulate

Although it is commonly called the undulate ray, it is actually a species of skate (sometimes known as the undulate skate). Skates and rays look similar because they are closely related (as both are part of the Shark Family), but you can spot the difference by looking at the tail. Skates have short stubby tails which cannot sting and delicate pointy noses making them look like a Dimond, whereas rays have a long whip-like tail which can sting and a more round nose/body.

How to ID –

The undulate ray is easily recognisable thanks to the dark wavy beautiful pattern on its back, which helps the shark camouflage on the sandy seabed. Small spines run down the centre of the shark and along the whole tail.

SHARK Bites!

Throughout their life, adult Undulate Skate Shark will continue to grow up to a maximum of 1m, weighing up to approx 10kg (male undulates are smaller than the females), however, local anglers are reporting Undulate females weighing up to 22kg!

They can live up to 20 years if not caught for food (Skate & Chips...that should be 'Shark & Chips'!). A Female has to reach the age of 8-9 years old before laying eggs.

Sharks take a long time to grow up and mature, before becoming an adult, an Undulate Skate Shark Pups grow from 14cm (hatchling) to 75cm within 9 years. This slow growth rate/maturity is one of the reasons they are Globally endangered as many pups are caught by fisheries before they are able to produce the next generation.

We still do not know how long it takes for Undulate Skate Shark Pups to hatch, however, scientists believe that their hatching season is from June to December each year.

Female Undulate Shark Rays lay up to 30 eggcases from March to September.

Undulate Skate Sharks lay eggcases up to 8.9cm long + 3.7cm wide (excluding horns).

When hatched Undulate Skates Pups are 14cm long, bigger than the eggcase it was in, and as big as an adult's hand!

Blonde Skate Ray Shark

Raja brachyura

The blonde ray is a large skate that lives close to the sea floor. It likes sandy areas where its ochre-coloured body is camouflaged against the seabed, hiding it from any predators.

How to ID –

The blonde ray is large and diamond shaped has tiny, prickly spines all over its back, with small dark spots all over its back that extend to the edge of its wings, as well as a scattering of larger pale spots.
It could be confused with the spotted ray, but the spots on the back of the spotted ray don't extend to the very edge of the wings, as they do on the blonde ray.

SHARK Bites!

Throughout their life, adult Blonde Skate Shark will continue to grow up to a maximum of 1.2m, weighing up to approx 14.3kg.

They can live up to 15 years if not caught for food (Skate & Chips...that should be 'Shark & Chips'!). A Female has to reach the age of 5 years old before laying eggs.

Sharks take a long time to grow up and mature, before becoming an adult, however compared to some of the other skate species, Blonde Skate Shark reach maturity a lot quicker with Pups growing from 16-18cm (hatchling) to 80cm within 5 years. This slow growth rate/maturity is one of the reasons they are Globally endangered as many pups are caught by fisheries before they are able to produce the next generation.

It can take Blonde Skate Shark Pups 7 months to hatch, however, scientists believe that their hatching season is from September to March each year.

Female Blonde Shark Rays lay up to 40-140 eggcases from February to August.

Blonde Sharks lay eggcases up to 13.2cm long + 8.6cm wide (excluding horns).

When hatched Blonde Skates Pups are 16-18cm long, bigger than the eggcase it was in, and as big as an adult's hand!

Blonde Skates are found up 900m deep, however they are more commonly found in areas less than 150m, prefers sandy seafloor close to sandbanks or within areas that shelter/protect from strong tidal currents.

Because they are a relatively large skate they can feed on cuttlefish, sandeels and smaller fish as well as a variety of small crustaceans and molluscs. Pups hunt small crustaceans.

Greater Spotted Catshark

Scyliorhinus stellaris

The nursehound is also known as the greater-spotted catshark, bull huss, greater-spotted dogfish, and rough hound shark – that’s a lot of names for one species!

How to ID –

The nurseshound is a large catshark, long and slender but quite stocky towards the front. It has large spots all over its body, and nasal flaps that fall just short of the mouth.

SHARK Bites!

6. Nurseshound Eggcase - aka Greater-Spotted Catshark, Bull Huss,Greater-Spotted Dogfish,

Throughout their life, adult Greater Spotted Catshark will continue to grow up to a maximum of 1.6m, weighing up to approx 11.3kg.

They can live up to 19 years if not caught for food, most Greater Spotted Catsharks are caught when they are only 90cm long.

Female has to reach the age of 4 years old and 76cm before laying eggs.

Sharks take a long time to grow up and mature, before becoming an adult, however compared to some of the other shark species, Greater Spotted Catshark reach maturity a lot quicker with Pups growing from 10-16cm (hatchling) to 76cm within 4 years. This slow growth rate/maturity is one of the reasons they are Globally endangered as many pups are caught by fisheries before they are able to produce the next generation.

It can take Greater Spotted Catshark Pups 9 months to hatch, however, scientists believe that their hatching season is from September to March each year.

Female Greater Spotted Catsharks lay up to 9-41 eggcases from January to April.

Greater Spotted Catshark lay eggcases up to 12cm long + 4.6cm wide.

When hatched Greater Spotted Catsharks Pups are 10-16cm long, bigger than the eggcase it was in, and as big as an adult's hand!

The nursehound is a nocturnal predator, hunting smaller fish close to the seafloor, living in rocky areas with lots of algae.

During the day they hide in holes and crevices in the rock, with several sharks sometimes resting in the same crevice.

They hunt at night, feeding on cephalopods (like squid and octopus), crustaceans (like crabs and large shrimp), smaller fish and even other sharks.

Common Stingray Shark

Dasyatis pastinaca

The Common Stingray is the only true stingray species regularly encountered in UK waters. They can be up to 140 cm body disc width and 250 cm total length.

The Common Stingray has no dorsal fins. The tail bears a barbed, poisonous, spine that can be 35 cm long.

How to ID –

The snout is short and leads towards the pectoral fins in an almost straight line. The upper, dorsal, surface is a ‘uniform’ grey to brown to olive in colour. The underside of the body is white with a wide, dark margin.

Common Species:

Below are species which we have regularly discovered evidence of and/or we believe there is a healthy population:

Thornback Skate Ray Shark

Raja clavata

The most commonly encountered ray around the British Isles, it's easy to see where the thornback ray got its name from - just check out the spines on its back!

How to ID –

With a distinctive kite shaped body, the thornback ray can also be recognised by its blotchy brown or grey back and collection of 'thorns' on its back and tail. Some other ray species also have thorns but the thornback ray has the biggest.

SHARK Bites!

Throughout their life, adult Thornback Skate Shark will continue to grow up to a maximum of 1.3m, weighing up to approx 18kg (male Thornbacks are smaller than the females only growing to 1m).

Female Thornbacks can live up to 15 years (with Males living to only 12yrs) if not caught for food (Skate & Chips...that should be 'Shark & Chips'!). A Female has to reach the age of 7 years old before laying eggs.

Sharks take a long time to grow up and mature, before becoming an adult, a Thornback Skate Shark Pups grow from 10-14cm (hatchling) to 60cm within 7 years. This slow growth rate/maturity is one of the reasons they are Globally endangered as many pups are caught by fisheries before they are able to produce the next generation.

It can take Thornback Skate Shark Pups 4-6 months to hatch, however, scientists believe that their hatching season is from July to February each year.

Female Thornback Shark Rays lay up to 150 eggcases from March to August.

Thornback Skate Sharks lay eggcases up to 8.3cm long + 6.9cm wide (excluding horns).

When hatched Thornback Skates Pups are 10-13cm long, bigger than the eggcase it was in, and almost big as an adult's hand!

Thornback Skates are known to be creatures of habit returning to the same specific locations to feed and breed, with adults migrating inshore seasonally to reach breeding/egglaying grounds.

Thornbacks feed on crabs/small fish (pups hunt small crustaceans) and are found up to 300m however they are more commonly found between 10-60m.

They are not fussy about the type of seafloor habitat and can be found on upper slopes, flat shelves and close to shore.

Spotted Skate Ray Shark

Raja montagui

The diamond-shaped spotted ray is one of the smallest skate species.

How to ID –

The spotted ray has numerous dark spots all over its back, except for on the edge of its wings, and sometimes an eyespot is present on each wing.

It can be mistaken for the blonde ray, but there is an easy way to tell them apart! The spotted pattern on the spotted ray's back does not extend all the way to the very edge of its wings, leaving a plain brown/yellow edge.

SHARK Bites!

Throughout their life, adult Spotted Skate Shark will continue to grow up to a maximum of 80cm, weighing up to approx 4.5kg (male Spotted are smaller than the females).

Spotted Ray Sharks can live up to 14 years if not caught for food (Skate & Chips...that should be 'Shark & Chips'!). A Female has to reach the age of 3-4 years old before laying eggs.

Sharks take a long time to grow up and mature, before becoming an adult, a Spotted Skate Shark Pups grow from 8-10cm (hatchling) to 40-49cm within 3-4 years. This slow growth rate/maturity is one of the reasons they are Globally endangered as many pups are caught by fisheries before they are able to produce the next generation.

It can take Spotted Skate Shark Pups 5-6 months to hatch, however, scientists believe that their hatching season is from July to January each year.

Female Spotted Shark Rays lay up to 20-70 eggcases from February to July.

Spotted Skate Sharks lay eggcases up to 7.5cm long + 3.7cm wide (excluding horns).

When hatched Spotted Skates Pups are 8-10cm long, bigger than the eggcase it was in, and almost big as an adult's hand!

Small Spotted Catshark

Scyliorhinus canicula

Small-spotted catsharks used to be called lesser-spotted dogfish - which might be what you know them best as. It's the same shark, just a different name!

How to ID –

The most common shark in UK seas. It is smaller and more spotty than the scarcer nursehound (also known as large spotted dogfish or bull huss). The small-spotted catshark has very rough, pale cream skin, large dark cat-like eyes and a small mouth.

SHARK Bites!

Throughout their life, adult Small Spotted Catshark will continue to grow up to a maximum of 80cm, weighing up to approx 2kg (male catsharks are smaller than the females).

Female Catsharks can live up to 12 years (with males catsharks having a shorter lifespan as well as being smaller) if not caught for food (Skate & Chips...that should be 'Shark & Chips'!). A Female has to reach the age of 8 years old before laying eggs.

Sharks take a long time to grow up and mature, before becoming an adult, an Small Spotted Catshark Pups grow from 9-10cm (hatchling) to 54-57cm within 8 years. This slow growth rate/maturity is one of the reasons they are Globally endangered as many pups are caught by fisheries before they are able to produce the next generation.

Small Spotted Catshark Eggcase Attached to Seaweed.png

It can take Small Spotted Catshark Pups 5-11 months to hatch, however, scientists believe that their hatching season is all year round.

Female Catsharks lay up to 240 eggcases all year round.

Catsharks lay eggcases up to 4cm long + 2cm wide (excluding horns).

When hatched Small Spotted Catskates Pups are 9-10cm long, (2-3x bigger than the eggcase it was in) and as long as an Adults finger.