THE UNCOMMON SKATE – key facts
It is slow growing and takes many years to reach sexual maturity
Population replacement is only around 2% per year
Now considered to be extinct in many areas
Please download a copy of the poster
Thanks go to Davy Holt, Glasgow Museums and the various sponsors.

The Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Environment Committee is seeking views on the general principles of the Marine (Scotland) Bill " .
The Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 29 April 2009 and it is expected that the Rural Affairs and Environment Committee will be designated lead Committee for scrutiny of the Bill.
The Bill seeks to create “a framework to manage growing and competing demands for the use of marine resources in the seas around Scotland, balancing environmental and socio-economic considerations to maximise economic growth within …

“Scottish sea anglers welcome EU shark plan”
SSACN launch the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme
The Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN) has been lobbying both the EU and Scottish parliament for a coherent approach to shark conservation and management for a number of years.
The EC has finally announced their conclusions and priority actions regarding the Community Plan of Action for Sharks (CPOA) which is a framework document that sets out a range of potential measures (both mandatory and voluntary) to be implemented at Member …

By Phill Williams for Boat Fishing Monthly
SCOTTISH SEA ANGLING CONSERVATION NETWORK ‘TAGATHON’
If like me you are between 50 and 60 years of age and have fished for as far back as you can remember, then you almost certainly will have shared in a quality of boat fishing that most people younger than yourself can only dream about. There aren’t many consolations for growing old, but that, along with bus passes and free prescriptions, is one of them. In particular I can remember when spurdog shoals were so vast that you …

CONSULTATION on an EU Action Plan for Sharks Response
Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN)
Antonio Fernandez-Aguirre International Policy and Law of the Sea Unit Directorate General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs European Commission 99 Rue Joseph II B – 1049 Brussels
Dear Mr. Fernandez-Aguirre:
The Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN www.ssacn.org) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the European Commission’s consultation paper for development of a Community Plan of Action (CPOA) for Sharks.
SSACN is …

The fight to save the Spurdog Shark Overfishing prompts anglers to descend upon lochs in a mass effort to tag critically endangered species – By Gordon Mack
IT IS never going to become a cuddly toy like the panda, and it lacks the big cat mystique of the Siberian tiger. But the predatory spurdog, once one of the eastern Atlantic’s most prolific small sharks, is equally threatened with extinction in Scottish waters.
And next weekend, Scottish sea anglers will aim to put the bite on fisheries …

15 boats and 60+ anglers to take part in SSACN weekend project.
Over the weekend of November 15/16, the conservation charity, the Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network (SSACN – www.ssacn.org)  are holding a spurdog tagging event in Lochs Sunart and Etive with 60+ anglers taking part.
The anglers will be split into teams of 2 to 4 and will be fishing from 15 boats and the shores of the lochs. Each team will have a leader experienced in handling and tagging spurdog and who will working to an approved set of guidelines …