Winter is coming, but work is just starting

The thornback ray (Raja clavata) is one of the most widely distributed elasmobranch species in Europe, yet our knowledge of their ecology and biology is somewhat limited, especially in the North. In Denmark, most people don’t even realise that Danish waters are home to a range of shark, ray and skate species. In an effort to address this major knowledge gap, we’ll be tagging thornback rays in the Kattegat Sea with acoustic and data storage tags. The hope is to gain insights on their habitat use in the region, and to hopefully confirm a hypothesised mating and/or pupping ground.

First things first: we need to deploy some acoustic receivers in the water so we can detect the rays once they’re tagged. With this task started, and nearly completed, we’ll be setting off to search for thornback rays very soon. Stay tuned.

An acoustic receiver, ready for deployment. Photo © Kim Birnie-Gauvin