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ISRA FACTSHEETS

EUROPEAN ATLANTIC

ISRA FACTSHEETS

EUROPEAN ATLANTIC

Weymouth ISRA

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Weymouth ISRA

Weymouth

Summary

Weymouth is located on the southern coast of England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. This area is a sheltered bay characterised by sandy and rocky beaches. It is influenced by the English Channel and the mouth of the River Wey. Within this area there are: reproductive areas (Small-eyed Skate Raja microocellata).

Weymouth

Weymouth

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Weymouth is located on the southern coast of England, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The area includes Preston Beach and Bowleaze Cove. It is a sheltered bay characterised by sandy and rocky beaches (Heeps 1986) and influenced by the English Channel and the mouth of the River Wey.

This Important Shark and Ray Area is benthic and is delineated from surface and inshore waters (0 m) to 10 m based on the bathymetry of the area.

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C1 – REPRODUCTIVE AREAS

Weymouth is an important reproductive area for one ray species.

Between 2023–2025, 29 Small-eyed Skates were observed in this area through underwater visual census conducted across nine days between May–September (SEA LIFE unpubl data. 2025). All observed individuals were neonate/young-of-the-year (YOY) measuring between 10–30 cm disc width (DW). This equates to a maximum of ~40 cm total length (TL) using a species-specific DW to TL conversion (McCully et al. 2012). The size-at-birth of this species is 10–13 cm TL (Last et al. 2016). The smallest size-at-maturity of the species ranges from 66–73 cm TL in this part of the region (IFCA 2021). Some Small-eyed Skates were caught and measured to determine a reference point to estimate the size of other individuals. Neonate/YOY Small-eyed Skates were observed in 2023 (n = 10 in 3 days), 2024 (n = 16 in 2 days), and 2025 (n = 3 in 4 days) (SEA LIFE unpubl. data 2025). The observations are typically made between Preston Beach and Bowleaze Cove. As surveys were only undertaken between May–September, additional temporal data are required to confirm the seasonality of the importance of this area. Additional observations of small individuals recorded through recreational activities (e.g., angling and snorkelling) have been shared online. Small-eyed Skates are relatively rare in Northwest Europe (IFCA 2021). Little is known about the reproduction of the species, however, egg laying behaviour peaks in the season that these observations were made (Ellis & Walls 2015). Further, this area is characterised by suitable habitat (sandy bays) and the observation of neonate/YOY Small-eyed Skates here is consistent with the known habitat preferences of the species during early life stages, particularly shallow sandy banks close to the shore (Stehmann & Bürkel 1984; Kaiser et al. 2004; Ellis et al. 2005). Weymouth is one of only two locations within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland with regular and predictable observations of the species at this life stage.

Weymouth

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