White Skate (Owl Skate) Rostroraja alba
The White Skate (Rostroraja alba) is one of Europe’s rarest and largest rays, now critically endangered and reduced to a tiny number of populations in the north-east Atlantic. Historically recorded across a broader range including the North Sea, it has been virtually eliminated from most of its former habitat through bottom trawling. Any historic records from Suffolk waters reflect a species that was already becoming scarce, and contemporary records in the southern North Sea would be entirely exceptional. The species’ perilous global status makes any verified record of outstanding conservation significance, and it serves as a symbol of the impact of intensive bottom fishing on large, slow-reproducing elasmobranchs. Image: © Dennis Rabeling, iNaturalist.
Find out more: iNaturalist, Marine Life Information Centre
Suffolk’s Priority Marine Life Species
Key
Listed as a conservation priority in Suffolk’s Biodiversity Action Plan.
Closely associated with Suffolk’s landscape and natural identity.
Identified as a key priority for recovery under Suffolk’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy.
Has a Species of the Month article attached.
