Spinytail skate (Bathyraja spinicauda). Norsk: Gråskate.
No official record yet
Villmarksliv's official list of Norwegian sport-fishing records has no record for Spinytail skate yet. The first registered fish that meets the rules becomes the record.
About Spinytail skate
Jan Fekjan (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The spinytail skate (Bathyraja spinicauda) is the only skate of its family that lives in Norwegian waters. It is a big skate that can reach about 1.7–1.8 m in total length. The upper side is bluish grey and the underside white, with dark markings around the vent and on the tail, which carries a single row of thorns along its midline. It prefers cold water, often around 0–4 °C, and lives on the outer shelf and slope, usually at about 150–250 m, though it has been caught much deeper. Its range covers the northernmost Atlantic, from Canada and Greenland to Iceland, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea, and it is uncommon close to the coast. In the Barents Sea it feeds mostly on fish, including haddock, redfish and long rough dab. It is taken as bycatch. On the Norwegian Red List 2021 it is Least Concern (LC); in 2010 it was Near Threatened.
Sources: Artsdatabanken, Store norske leksikon, polarlife.ca, researchgate.net
- Habitat: Saltvann
- Best month: Juli
Biggest Spinytail skate in FishComp
Caught a Spinytail skate? Log it in FishComp.
Log your catchHow to register a Norwegian record
- Norwegian sport-fishing records are registered with Villmarksliv, not with FishComp. Read the rules before you do anything else with the fish.
- Records are based on weight and approved by a jury. You give the weight and length, where it was caught, the gear you used and any witnesses.
- Keep your photos and notes from the catch. Logging it in FishComp does not register a record.
Source: Villmarksliv's official Norwegian records (klikk.no).