The purses appear to have been positioned intentionally between boulders
couple over the years in an area between Skye and the mainland , I was able to blag my way onto the working boat for the day .
The scallop divers were happy to take me to a spot where they had seen a small number of egg cases . It was a relatively deep spot at 30m plus , but we dropped down in high hopes . We found ourselves at 31m on a sandy / gravelly / silty seabed with the odd cobble and no sign of any egg cases . Most skates bury their egg cases , their spiky ‘ horns ’ helping them to stay in the substrate and so avoid predation . It appears that flapper skate do things a little differently . The small numbers of egg cases seen in situ in the past have usually been in rocky areas , deposited freely and loosely between boulders . I could see an area of boulders off to one side , so we swam for that and within a few minutes I found a pair of flapper skate purses nestled in between a couple of boulders . Once again , I whooped with joy . After photographing and measuring the pair of purses , we discovered another on the other side of the same boulder , then another , then some more .
In all , I saw approximately 40 flapper skate purses in an area no bigger than a couple
of living rooms . I was able to see that some were very old and clearly empty . Some were old but hatched and some , even more excitingly , still held developing embryos . One in particular was a very fresh egg case , suggesting it had been recently laid . Many of the cases were widely different in shape and size , but equally , some were almost identical . All of this , in my opinion , suggests that the area might well be used by a number of females and used over a long period of time – in short , a hatchery . No specific name for such exists , so after much deliberation , I have taken it upon myself to dub it a ‘ Flappery ’ – fingers-crossed it catches on !
Looking to the future
Upon my triumphant return home , I contacted various agencies including NatureScot ( then Scottish Natural Heritage – SNH ) and Marine Scotland , as well as a handful of conservation organisations . NatureScot were very interested in the find and , in early March 2020 , they organised a survey trip to the site , which I ’ m very pleased to say they allowed me to take part in . We dived the site five times over a few days and confirmed the presence of multiple flapper egg cases – well over 100 – and many were sampled for genetic sequencing , hopefully to confirm whether the site is indeed used by multiple females , as I strongly suspect .
NatureScot confirmed the presence of multiple egg cases on the site in March 2020 , and then the following year on 10th of March 2021 ‘ The Red Rocks and Longay Urgent Marine Conservation Order ’ was announced , making it only the second emergency designation of its type in Scotland , the first being a few weeks after the dredging incident in Loch Carron ’ s world famous ( and now largest known ) flame shell reef , in 2017 .
The designation is fantastic news for the skate . For the next 12-24 months , there should be no activity that will cause any harm or disturbance to this unique and incredibly important site . However , it has also had some rather negative and possibly unforeseen consequences .
I have already been approached by creel-men , scallop divers , anglers and other citizen scientists expressing great concern that all activities have been lumped in together with no regard to the severity of impact of said activity .
Recreational diving has also been banned – an unprecedented , and some would argue , counter-productive act . I have spoken with numerous individuals who have all stated that they will not be providing any data to the Scottish Government until this situation is resolved – they are worried that by reporting areas of interest , these areas may then receive a blanket ban on all activities , as in the Red Rocks site , so affecting those sustainable fisheries that enabled the site to be found in the first place !
I am hopeful that during the next two years of further surveying and stakeholder engagement , appropriate and graded spatial protections can be put in place around the site to protect the eggs , but that also reward the most sustainable and least damaging forms of fishing . I look forward to taking part in that process . �
Get involved
UKDIVING
■ The Shark Trust runs a recording project called the Great Eggcase Hunt , where you can identify and record your finds , above or below the water ( sharktrust . org / great-eggcase-hunt ).
■ Seasearch is a UK-wide citizen science project offering training in recording habitats and marine life sightings for entry onto a national database made freely available to researchers and campaigners
( seasearch . org . uk ).
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