Winter skate

What it is

The winter skate is a type of ray with a flat, diamond-shaped body. It grows up to 109 centimetres long. The upper side is light brown with small dark spots and one to four eye-like markings called ocelli. These markings have dark centres and pale edges. Small spines cover most of the disk and tail. The underside is white with irregular brown blotches. Males have claspers for reproduction, while females do not. The fins propel the animal through water, keeping the tail stiff.

Where it lives

This species lives in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Its range extends from north of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Canada down to Cape Hatteras in North Carolina. It prefers sandy or gravelly seabeds. Winter skates are typically found at depths between 110 and 370 metres. They thrive in cold waters, with temperatures ranging from minus 1.2 to 15 degrees Celsius. The population is divided into three groups: the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Eastern Scotian Shelf and Newfoundland, and the Western Scotian Shelf.

How it lives

Winter skates are bottom-dwellers that feed on various prey depending on their age. Juveniles eat small shrimp, amphipods, and sand lance. Adults consume fish such as rainbow smelt, winter flounder, and Atlantic herring. They also eat Atlantic rock crab, razor clams, and sticklebacks. Grey seals are a major predator, contributing significantly to adult mortality. The overlap in range between seals and skates has increased during summer months due to changing temperatures.

Breeding and life cycle

These skates reproduce by laying eggs, a strategy known as oviparity. Females produce about 50 egg cases per year, each containing a single embryo. These capsules are often called mermaid purses. Gestation lasts six to nine months in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The species matures late, which makes recovery from population declines difficult. In the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, maturity occurs at around five years. Elsewhere, it takes 11 to 13 years to reach sexual maturity.

Fish and people

There is no directed fishery for winter skates in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. However, they are frequently caught as bycatch in commercial operations targeting other species. The scallop industry often captures them because their habitats overlap. Most captured skates are discarded back into the sea. Discard rates have fallen from roughly 100 tons in the early 1970s to about one or two tons since 2005. Bottom-contacting fishing gear can damage the seafloor structure and reduce prey abundance.

Status and threats

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the winter skate as endangered. Populations in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence have dropped by 99 percent since the 1980s. Egg cases are now rare on local beaches in that area. Threats include incidental capture in fisheries and high natural mortality from grey seals. Habitat alteration from mobile fishing gear also poses a risk. The slow growth and late maturity of the species make it particularly vulnerable to these pressures.

Relatives and look-alikes

The winter skate closely resembles the little skate. Both species share similar reproductive traits and gestation periods. However, the winter skate is larger and matures later than the little skate. Confusion between the two can occur due to their similar appearance and overlapping ranges in the northwest Atlantic.

Questions people ask about Winter skate

Good reading and sources

• Winter skate on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos
• Wikidata recordOpen data