Counting eggcases of critically endangered species
Species: Flapper Skate (Egg-laying Site). Location: Inner Sound, Skye, UK. 2020. In October 2020 I headed out to the recently discovered Flapper Skate (Dipturus intermedius) egg-laying site located within the Inner Sound of Skye. I was there with a small group of collaborators including divers, videographers, creelers and scallop divers to survey the site. This […]
Finally! A fantastic view of elusive plankton eaters
Species: Basking Shark. Location, Oban, UK. 2015. August 2015 finally resulted in a successful mission to freedive with Basking Sharks! I have always been lucky with my shark encounters abroad, however in the UK, aside from the rogue catshark, they have always evaded me! On this occasion however, everything came together. I headed out of […]
Assessing the precarious conservation status of the spiny dogfish
Species: Spiny Dogfish. Location: Loch Sunart, UK. 2009. During my research into the shark immune system, I became particularly interested in the conservation status of one of our focal species; the spiny dogfish, also known as Spurdog (Squalus acanthias). Due to population segregation and aggregation, stocks are assessed as subpopulations. The Northeast Atlantic sub-population that […]
An impressive yet underrated and overlooked shark
Species: Small Spotted Catshark. Location: Aberdeen, UK. 2006. A short note on the small spotted catshark. I remember being slightly unimpressed the first time I worked with this species. I’d seen them in various aquariums; they had been the ones sitting on the bottom not doing an awful lot. However, after working with them in […]