Record numbers of flapper skate recorded around Fair Isle during survey
RECORD numbers of flapper skate have been identified around Fair Isle following the latest inshore fish survey.
Together with a dedicated sandeel survey carried out in May 2025, the fourth consecutive inshore survey marked the most ambitious fisheries programme undertaken around Fair Isle so far.
A total of 17 flapper skate were caught in August 2025 – the highest number during the Fair Isle surveys.
The largest recorded was a 2.04-metre male weighing 62.05 kg, with every skate photographed, tagged and returned to the sea to support future research into their growth, movements and distribution.
The survey results were published online yesterday (Monday) by UHI Shetland – in partnership with the Fair Isle demonstration and research marine protected area (DR MPA) executive steering group.
The researchers say the findings provide further evidence supporting Fair Isle’s recent designation as an important shark and ray area for undefined aggregations of flapper skate.
UHI Shetland carried out 10 scientific trawls and four baited remote underwater video (BRUV) deployments in waters around Fair Isle aboard the 14m Kestrel (LK 268) last year.
The results showed spurdog to be by far the most dominant species by catch weight in the 2025 survey, accounting for 801 kg — around 27 per cent of the total catch.
Spurdog were observed in eight out of ten survey hauls, with 97 per cent of the spurdog recorded being male.
Over the last four years, spurdog numbers in Fair Isle are consistently higher compared to corresponding data from the Shetland inshore fish surveys.
The survey also recorded a range of commercial and other fish species, including haddock, cod, saithe, lemon sole, and plaice.
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Two species – scaldfish and boarfish – were recorded around Fair Isle for the first time in the survey time series.
The results also demonstrated considerable year-to-year variation, UHI Shetland said.
Compared with previous surveys, 2025 saw particularly high flapper skate catch rates, while lemon sole, plaice and common dab were also at their highest recorded Fair Isle levels.
Haddock and whiting catches were lower than in 2024, while cod catches were slightly higher.
UHI Shetland said the report emphasised that the results should be viewed as part of a growing multi-year dataset rather than as a single-year assessment of fish stocks.
The Fair Isle DR MPA was established in 2016 as Scotland’s first community-led demonstration and research MPA, with research into local fisheries forming an important part of its objectives.
The continuing surveys are intended to improve understanding of local fish populations and provide evidence to support future management and sustainable fisheries.
UHI Shetland’s fisheries lead Dr Shaun Fraser said surveys like these were “critical for understanding the marine environment.”
“These most recent data from the Fair Isle inshore fish survey provides numerous insights into the abundance, distribution, growth, and diet of fish populations in the area, which have important implications for other marine species and the wider environment,” he added.
Fair Isle DR MPA research officer Katie Cubbon said they hope to be able to continue the inshore fish surveys for years to come.
“Continued monitoring will help build the long-term time series needed to understand population changes and strengthen the scientific basis for sustainable management of the DR MPA,” Cubbon said.
The project is supported by funds raised by players of Postcode Lottery through the National Trust for Scotland’s Love Our Nature project.
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