I was absolutely delighted that our paper, “Monitoring a Flapper Skate (Dipturus intermedius) Egg-Laying Site in Loch Melfort, Scotland, by a Community Science Group”, was published in the April edition of Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.
This publication marks the culmination of a dedicated 31-month voluntary effort by Shark & Skate Scotland — co-founded by Chris and myself — in collaboration with Kilchoan Melfort Trust.
On a personal level, I am incredibly proud to see this work formally published. Everything involved in this project was done on a purely voluntary basis, requiring genuine dedication, persistence, and countless hours of work driven entirely by our passion for this remarkable and critically endangered species.
Community science groups can sometimes struggle to be taken seriously within the wider scientific community, which makes this publication especially meaningful. It shows what can be achieved through collaboration, commitment, and a shared determination to contribute valuable research and conservation work.
We would like to sincerely thank everyone involved who helped make this project possible. This achievement belongs to all who supported the project along the way.”
