Skates & Rays of the Jersey Shore

WHAT ARE SKATES & RAYS?

Skates and rays are flattened carnivorous fish, closely related to sharks. Skates, rays and sharks are cartilaginous fish (scientific name Chondrichthyes). Instead of heavy, white bones, they have a skeleton made from cartilage (the same substance that forms a human’s nose and ears).

Cartilage is a tremendously strong and flexible fibrous tissue that forms the framework for bones to ossify (harden) upon. It’s why babies have rubbery legs when they begin to walk. Cartilage is flexible, strong and dense, but not so heavy as bone. So cartilage reduces weight, making it easier for these fish to swim at fast speeds with less energy being expelled to catch prey. Out of around 1,000 species of cartilaginous fishes, about 400 species are sharks, and about 600 species are skates and rays in oceans throughout the world.

Skates and rays spend a lot of time buried in the sand. Either hiding from predators or lying in wait for unsuspecting prey. The mouth, nostrils and gill slits of skates and rays are always found on the underside of the fish, with the eyes and spiracles (breathing holes) on the upper side. When buried in the sand, skates and rays rely on spiracles to provide them with oxygen.

According to the fossil records, it is believed skates and rays evolved 150 million years ago during the late Jurassic period as guitar-like fish. They even had spines! It is currently accepted that all skates and rays are derived from guitar-like fishes, but the evolution pattern is uncertain at this time. More evidence needs to be found. Yet, unlike bony fish, cartilaginous fish leave very few fossil records due to lack of bones or a skeleton.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE SKATES AND THE RAYS?

There are several main variations between skates and rays.

• The main difference between rays and skates is in their reproductive efforts. Female rays bear live young (viviparous) while female skates are egg laying (oviparous) fish. Skates release their eggs in leathery rectangular cases often whimsically called by people as “mermaid’s purses.”

• Skates do not possess a stinging spine on their tail, while many rays do.

• Rays are generally larger than skates.

• Skates have small pointy teeth (like sandpaper) designed to bite their prey. Rays have dental plates with rows of small, flat teeth adapted for crushing prey like clams and crabs.

• Quite a few species of skates live in cool waters, while rays prefer warm seas and rivers.

• Skates are generally harmless to humans. Some species of rays, however, including stingrays, one of the most recognized type of ray, can be harmful, even deadly to humans, if provoked. Yet, not all rays have stingers (the giant manta ray doesn't have a stinger), and not all rays sting. All rays, however, typically have a slender and long tail.

WHAT DO SKATES & RAYS EAT?

Many local species of skate and rays are opportunistic feeders, eating whatever is available. Along the Jersey Shore, skates and rays will eat mostly on invertebrates that live on the bottom of an ocean or estuary. Skates prefer to eat on shellfish and crabs, sea quirts, shrimps, squid and small fish. Rays feed on a diverse diet of shellfish and crabs including clams, crabs, shrimps, and oysters.

WHAT ARE SOME PRIMARY THREATS TO SKATES & RAYS ALONG THE JERSEY SHORE?

In general, skates and rays found along the Jersey Shore have little to no recreational fishing value and are not intentionally pursued in any recreational fisheries. But in some other nearby states, skates are commonly used for bait by shark anglers.

Due to their tendency to be near-shore, several species of skates are often caught by recreational fishers. Sometimes irresponsible fishing people will throw live skates on the beach to die a slow, horrific death as retaliation for eating their cut bait on a hook. This appalling practice also occurs sometimes to dogfish.

Although most populations of skates and rays at present are considered stable or increasing along the Jersey Shore, bycatch from commercial fishing activities including trawling and gill nets, is a serious threat to the estimated long-term biomass of a number of skate and ray species along the coast of New Jersey.

Bycatch, commonly defined as the incidental capture of non-target and non-retained species, is a major concern for populations of rays and skates from commercial fisheries. Longline fishing lines and hooks, as well as gill nets and midwater trawling can entangle and cause the mortality of rays. Once captured, some animals drown or bleed to death in the water, and many others struggle for hours until the fishing boat returns to reel them in.

Bottom trawl fishing nets can negatively impact populations of skates. Bottom trawling drags a large a fishing net along the sea floor, which catches not only intended species, but any plants or animals in its way. Trawling gear produces acute impacts on the biota and the seafloor by disrupting deep-water coral, overturning rocks and debris, seizing lots of bottom dwelling animals. For hours, trapped fish are dragged along the ocean floor with netted rocks, coral, and ocean debris. When hauled out of the water, surviving fish undergo excruciating decompression, often rupturing a fish’s swim bladder and stomachs.

In addition, in the Northeast region, skates are harvested by commercial fisheries for lobster bait. Small, whole skates are among the preferred baits for the regional American lobster (Homarus americanus) fishery. The fishery for lobster bait is a more historical and directed skate fishery, involving vessels primarily from Southern New England ports that target a combination of little skates (>90%) and, to a much lesser extent, juvenile winter skates (<10%). The bait fishery is largely based out of Rhode Island with other ports (New Bedford, Martha’s Vineyard, Block Island, Long Island, Stonington, Chatham and Provincetown) also identified as participants in the directed bait fishery. Historically, landings for skate fishery have not been reliably reported by species, hindering stock assessments and effective species-level management.

For many years now, the State of Virginia has worked to reduce the number of shellfish-eating rays in the Chesapeake Bay, including the cownose ray, due to the terrible misunderstanding that rays eat too many oysters and clams, and are responsible for the decrease in local shellfish populations. The state opened the waters to ray fishing and created a market for seafood from the flesh of rays. For more information on this topic, please read, “Chesapeake Bay’s Misguided War on the Ray” and visit the website for Save the Rays.

Just like sharks, skates and rays are vulnerable to human threats from overfishing and bycatch due to:

• A slow growth rate and young that are late to mature

• Females have long pregnancies

• Females produce few young

• Females may not reproduce every year.

FIELD GUIDE

Common Skates & Rays Found along the Jersey Shore!

Below is list of some of the most familiar skates and rays to be seen or found along the Jersey Shore. This list is by no means complete. A more detailed index of the abundance population of skates and rays established along the Jersey Shore can be found at NJDEP, Division of Fish and Wildlife webpage. In addition, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has a webpage devoted to population information about skates, sharks and rays found in local coastal waters. Furthermore, the Florida Museum of Natural History has several wonderful webpages devoted to the ecology and biology of skates and rays found in the Atlantic Ocean. All are worthy of further reading. It should also be understood that there is very little scientific knowledge for many species of skates and rays. There is still much to discover about these unique fish, especially concerning reproduction activities.

THE SKATE FISH

Little Skates

The Little skate was first named Raja erinacea, but the scientific name has since been changed to the currently valid name Leucoraja erinacea.

The Little skate is one of the most common species of skates found along the Jersey Shore, including within estuarine habitats such as Sandy Hook Bay, Raritan Bay, Barnegat Bay, and Delaware Bay.

Features: The most distinctive characters of grown specimens are their small size, absence of thorns along the midline of the back (except in the young) and blunt nose.”

Size: Ordinarily up to 16 to 20 inches long; the maximum recorded length is 21 inches (53 cm.); they weigh about ¾ to 1 pound at 16 to 17 inches and anywhere from 11/3 to 2 pounds at 18 inches. Females mature sexually when 12½-17 inches (32-43 cm.) long, males at about 14 to 17½ inches.

Habitat: Little skates are most abundant on sandy or pebbly bottom; but they are likewise found on mud. The little skate tolerates a wide range of temperature, being found in water as warm as 68-70° in summer, while they are exposed to temperatures close to 32° in the Bay of Fundy in some winters. According to NJ Fish & Wildlife: They are the most plentiful in northern inshore waters in the summer along the Jersey Shore.

Reproduction: Examination of large numbers of females has shown that eggs are laid there throughout the year. And there is no reason to doubt that this is the case to the north and east of Cape Cod as well. Aquarium experiments have also shown that eggs laid in the period, May-July, hatched between the end of November and the beginning of January, i. e., after 5 to 6 months. But the incubation period is likely to be somewhat longer for spring-summer laid eggs in nature because of somewhat lower temperatures; and considerably longer for eggs laid in autumn and early winter.

Egg cases & Growth: The eggs measure about 1½ to 17/8 inches by about 21/8 to 2½ inches, not counting the horns. A little skate 8 inches (20 cm.) long may be 1 to 1½ years old; one of 11¾ to 12 inches (30 cm.) 2 to 3 years; one of 15¾ to 16 inches (40 cm.) 3 to 4 years; one of 19¾ to 20 inches 6 to 8 years old. And the mortality rate appears to be very high after five years, for very few of those found are longer than about 18 to 19 inches.

Clearnose Skates (Raja eglanteria).

The Clearnose skate is the second most common skate to be found along the Jersey Shore. According to NJ Fish & Wildlife: They spend their time off the coast of New Jersey from late spring to early fall, preferring water temperatures from 50°F - 70°F.

Size: Clearnose skates are a relatively small species of skate, with a average recorded size of 18 inches wide and 33 inches long.

Description: The Clearnose skate gets its name from its translucent snout, which is acutely pointed. The Clearnose skate is shaped like a diamond, with two pectoral fins and a tail ending in two small dorsal fins. Its topside is brown with dark spots and bars, while its underside is white with no markings. These skates have 46-54 teeth in rows set in their upper jaws and 48 teeth in their lower jaws.

Habitat: Clearnose skates prefer to live in saltwater bays and estuaries on the coastal bottom where soft, sandy, soils exist. They are typically found in inshore waters less than 400 feet deep, but they have been found at depths of over to 1,000 feet. They prefer water temperatures between 41-80°F (most commonly 48 - 70°F), and salinities of 12 - 35 ppt. They are commonly found close to shore but may travel offshore in colder months and migrate south during fall and winter. In the northern part of the range, the Clearnose skate is strictly a warm-season visitor in the shore waters. It appears in April between Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay, and is present along New Jersey and near New York from mid-May through the summer into October, sometimes until November.

Mating: Clearnose skate’s breeding season is heavily influenced by water temperatures; the optimal water temperature for breeding is 60-71°F. A male will approach a female from behind, then bite onto the trailing edge of one of her pectoral fins, holding on with his jaws, as well as with his spines. A male and female have been observed in this position for one to four hours before beginning copulation. To begin copulation, a male then rotates his pelvis underneath a female's tail and pelvic fin, and inserts one clasper into her cloaca. This is a slow process, taking up to an hour to complete.

According to the Fishes of the Western North Atlantic:

Reproduction: Eggs are most likely laid in the spring, at least in the northern part of the range.

Egg Cases: The egg cases range in size from 2 to 3 1/3 inches long (without the horns) and 1.5 to 2.2 inches wide. Incubation occupies a period of at least three months, but it is not known how much longer. Newborn specimens already show dark markings somewhat similar to an adult. A female brought in the the New York Aquarium from Sandy Hook in June laid two eggs the next day and two more three days later for a total of four egg cases.

Abundance: Clearnose skates have been reported as one the “most numerous Skates” at various coastal points between New Jersey and Virginia.

Winter Skates (Leucoraja ocellata).

As the name implies, the Winter skate is most active within cooler inshore waters between Chesapeake Bay and the Jersey Shore (up to New York Harbor) between October and early June. It also occurs offshore from New Jersey in waters 300 to 360 feet deep.

Features: Winter skates are light brown and covered with small dark spots. Small spines cover most of their back. The snout is more blunt, than pointed. The upper jaw with at between 90 - 100 series of teeth in adults. 1 to 4 white eyespots may be present towards the rear of the pectoral fins. This feature is the best way to differentiate this skate from the little skate at a glance.

Size: 30" to 34" Maximum 42". At 32" long the disc width is approximately 20 inches wide.

Habitat: This skate can be found to sandy and gravelly bottoms in shallow waters during the winter. Range from Newfoundland Banks and southern Gulf of St. Lawrence to North Carolina.

Temperature: the upper limits to its thermal preference is near 66 degrees F. It tends to move offshore along southern New England in early summer when the water temperature has risen to around 66 degrees F, and reappears to southern New England and New York coastal waters in early autumn when the water has cooled to about 64 to 66 degrees F. The fish has been found frequently on the Nova Scotian Banks in water colder than 41 degrees F.

Behavior: The Winter skate comes closer to shore in the cooler months, in the southern part of its range. Diurnal, lays motionless partially covered in sand during the day. Forages for rock crabs and squid at night, as well as annelid worms, amphipods, shrimps, and razor clams. Will also eat fish when available.

Breeding: The Winter skate breeds throughout its geographic range from Newfoundland to northern North Carolina. In Nova Scotian and Gulf of Maine waters it deposits eggs from summer into autumn. Off southern New England, eggs are deposited throughout the year, as they have been found in Block Island Sound in April, May, August, November and February. A female that was brought to Woods Hole laid an egg in the aquarium on January 16th and laid six more within a few days.

Mating: They reproduce at a late age, when they’re approximately 11 years old and 2.5 feet long. All males are sexually mature by the time they have reached a length of 30 inches long.

Egg cases: The greenish brown or brownish olive egg cases are about 2 inches to 3.3 inches in length, excluding the horns, and 1.3 to 2 inches wide. Egg cases have 4 pointed corners that it attaches to rocks and seaweed with sticky tendrils. Reproduction takes place in summer and fall. Skates lay eggs year-round but have few offspring. The eggs incubate for 6 to 12 months, and young skates have the adult form when they hatch. Embryos when hatched already show distinctive features o the adults.

Threats: In Canada, the largest threat to the winter skate is commercial fishing, when trawling or longlines are used to catch scallops or shrimp. Most often, skates get caught in these nets as unwanted catch and are discarded. It is believed these methods led to the large population depletion of winter skates that began in the 1970s.

Consumption: Winter skates are the only species targeted for human consumption. While not a common find on tables in the United States, the Winter skate is immensely popular in Europe, particularly France.

Distribution of the Barndoor Skates:

Barndoor skate biomass distribution in the winter trawl (2000-2007) and summer dredge (2000-2007), surveys (NEFMC 2009). From NY DEC

Skate Egg Case Identification:

The Rays

The two most common rays seen along the Jersey Shore are from a group known as the Eagle Rays. These are strong, long-distance traveling fish. Tails are longer than the disk. Teeth are fused into grinding plates. Eagle rays feed on mollusks and crustaceans, crushing their shells with their flattened teeth. They are powerful swimmers and are able to occasionally breach out of the water up to several feet above the surface.

Cownose Ray (Rhinoptera bonasus).

The cownose ray is the most commonly seen or observed ray along the Jersey Shore during the summer. It is a brown, kite-shaped ray with a long, whip-like tail. This ray is highly migratory species along the Atlantic Coast that visits the shallow ocean and estuarine waters of the Jersey Shore in summer each year to feed and give birth.

According to NJ Fish & Wildlife: “The Cownose ray ranges from southern New England to northern Florida and the entire Gulf of Mexico. Cownose Stingrays migrate during the fall to Trinidad, Venezuela and Brazil in large schools.

These stingrays occasionally jump out of the water, creating a loud smack.”

Features: Coloration of brown to olive, with no spots or markings. Pectoral fins are long and pointed. Their snout is projecting and square, looking similar to a cow's nose. The tail is long and whip-like with a barb located near the base. The cownose ray is named for the shape of its head, which when observed from above resembles a cow’s nose.

Sightings: Cownose rays are abundant along the Jersey Shore from May to October. They are most often seen in shoal waters, even in the surf, occasionally large schools. Large numbers of this species can also be seen migrating in the spring and fall. Massive schools have been aerially sighted along the Jersey Shore, sometimes with thousands of rays.

The Cownose ray swims by flapping its fins like a bird. As it swims, the tips of the fins break the surface and can look like shark fins. Many historic “shark” sightings along the Jersey Shore have probably actually been Cownose rays.

Size: Adult cownose rays reach widths of approximately three feet (~1 meter).

Feeding: Cownose ray feed mainly on oysters, clams and other large bivalve mollusks, and sometimes large gastropods, lobsters and crabs. They have been seen stirring up clouds of mud and sand from the bottom while foraging for shellfish. Cownose rays find their prey by flapping their fins against the bottom to uncover buried shellfish, then using their powerful dental plates to crush the shells open.

Reproduction: Cownose rays are ovoviviparous, meaning eggs develop and are hatched within the body of the mother. Only after the young are able to survive on their own does the mother give birth to her young. Generally, each female only produces one pup at a time.

Mating: Breeding takes place in June or July each summer. After mating, male cownose rays leave estuaries while females stay until October. After an 11-month gestation period, females give birth to a single live young, called a pup. The young are born in estuaries in June the following summer. At birth, pups are about 11 to 18 inches long. After birth, mating occurs and the cycle begins again. Pups are about 13 to 14 inches long when born.

Beware of the Spine!: Cownose rays have a venomous spine at the base of their tails. Captain John Smith, an English soldier and explorer that helped to establish the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in America in the early 17th century. He learned the hard way about the cownose ray’s spine. During his 1608 voyage around Chesapeake Bay he was stung and his crew thought he was going to die. The site on the Rappahannock River in eastern Virginia where he was stung is still known today as “Stingray Point.”

But Captain John Smith must have been swimming very close to a cownose ray in order to get stung. The spine is close to the body and is located at the base of the dorsal fins. It is about 2-4" long, resting along the thickened base of the tail. This location is hard to step on or accidentally brush against then the tails of other species of rays that have spines farther down. The potential of being hurt from a cownose’s tail is minimal since the spine is located on the tail close to the ray’s body. Nevertheless, be careful and take great care if you see one swimming in the water. Do not get close or try to touch a ray.

Bullnose Ray (Myliobatis freminvillii).

The Bullnose ray is a seasonal visitor along the Jersey Shore in the summer and fall, both in the ocean and in estuaries. Just like their relatives the Cownose rays, the Bullnose rays have been known to leap out of the water too. They also use their pectoral fins to dig for crustaceans and mollusks. As a result, Bullnose rays are sometimes mistaken for Cownose rays, or vice versa.

According to New Jersey Fish & Wildlife: “The Bullnose ray prefers coastal waters from Cape Cod to southeastern Florida. This ray swims in mid-water, sometimes even leaping to skim the water's surface. Pectoral fins are large, broad with sharply pointed tips. Their snout is thin and elongated like a duck bill. The tail is long and slender with a long spine near the base. Colors can range from grayish, reddish brown or dark brown.”

Size: Maximum size 33 inches; common to 28 inches disc width; males mature at 24 to 28 inches disc width; young 10 inch disc width at birth.

Sightings: The Bullnose ray is most frequently observed in coastal waters, to about a 30 foot depth, mainly in shallow estuaries. This ray is capable of leaping out of the water.

Along the coast of Delaware, the Bullnose ray is state's most common ray.

Diet: Food consists of bivalves, gastropods, and crustaceans (lobsters and crabs). Hermit crabs have been noted to be a special food item in Delaware Bay. The Bullnose ray locates prey items by swimming close to the bottom and undulating its “wings” (pectoral fins) and uses its subrostral lobe to expose invertebrates from the sandy sediments.

Reproduction: A female Bullnose ray will produce four to eight embryos during a reproductive season. Each newborn has a disc width of approximately 9.8 inches and closely resembles the adults in morphology.

Predators: Potential predators of this ray include marine mammals and large fish including sharks.

Threats: The Bullnose ray is often caught as bycatch with longlines and by pound and trammel nets. No data is available to assess population trends and this fish cannot currently be assessed by the IUCN.

Watch out for the spine!: The Bullnose ray has a long, whip-like tail armed with a venomous, barbed spine. But the Bullnose ray is non-aggressive, posing little threat to humans. When stepped on or caught by an angler, however, this fish will use its spine in defense. Any wound inflicted by the spine and associated venom would be painful but not lethal. It is strongly recommended to seek medical attention. Please be careful and do not swim close to rays!