- Thornback ray, Ecomare
Rays
Rays are cartilaginous fish, just like sharks. All rays have a strong flattened body and use their pectoral (side) fins as wings with which they fly through the water. Around ten species of rays are found in the North Sea. Small species, such as the spotted ray, the thornback ray and the starry ray are fairly common. The largest ray species in the North Sea, the skate, has become rare since the 1960s. Another scarcity for the North Sea is the stingray. Most ray species are benthic inhabitants, living off of fish, crustaceans and molluscs.
- Sharp changes in the appearance of rays
- Catches of rays in the whole North Sea, Ecomare
Large shifts have been occurring in the presence of rays in Dutch tidal waters and in the North Sea. The thornback ray and the stingray used to be caught a lot in the Wadden Sea, the delta waters and coastal waters. But they have since become much rarer, as well as the North Sea, together with the skate and the spotted ray. Skates have practically disappeared there and most other species are hardly ever caught. The exception is the starry ray, which has been able to survive the best. It is unknown whether or not this species was common in Dutch coastal and tidal waters in earlier days.
- Ray eggs on the beach
- Eggs of the starry ray, Ecomare
The thick, often black rectangular or square pouches with spines at each corner, are egg capsules from rays. They are regularly found on the beach. Almost all ray species in the North Sea lay eggs, attaching them to stones, wrecks or seaweed. One can identify which ray species they belong to by the color and shape of the pouch and the length of the spines.
- young Thornback rays
- young Thornback rays, ecomare, sytske dijksen
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