Field observation reveals a deepwater egg case nursery in Southern Ocean skates, highlighting conservation coverage within the Ross Sea marine protected area.
Areas of importance to Southern Ocean skates are poorly defined. Here, we identify a deepwater skate egg case nursery in a discrete location at ~460 m depth off Cape Adare in the Southern Ocean. This is the first confirmed observation of a skate nursery area in the Ross Sea and only the second observation for the Southern Ocean. The morphology and size of the egg cases were consistent with the genus Bathyraja and most likely belong to the Bathyraja sp. (cf. eatonii ). The nursery occurs within the “no take” General Protection Zone of the Ross Sea region marine protected area, where commercial fishing is prohibited.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Finucci et al. (2024) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: