Wright et al (2025) Discard Survival of Thornback Ray (Raja clavata), Undulate Ray (Raja undulata) and Small-Eyed Ray (Raja microocellata) in Northeast Atlantic Inshore Fisheries Fisheries Management and Ecology
This study assessed post-release survival of three ray species caught in Northeast Atlantic fisheries using electronic tagging and health condition assessments. Results showed the greater discard survival for thornback ray in otter trawls (97.0%) compared to trammel nets (94.3%) and longline fisheries (75.1%). In otter trawl fisheries, undulate ray also exhibited high survival (82.7%), while small-eyed ray showed lower but still substantial survival (55.3%). Overall, most individuals were alive when brought onboard, and survival was strongly linked to species, gear type and fish condition at release. The findings demonstrate that a significant proportion of rays discarded from bottom-fishing gears survive, providing robust scientific evidence to support discard survival exemptions and more accurate estimates of fishing mortality in management and stock assessments
