Anglers like to have a idea of the weight of a good fish, especially if it appears to be a personal best or of specimen size, but of course most also realise the need to minimise any damage to the fish through keeping it out of the water too long.
Weighing fish by measuring them helps minimize any potential harm to the fish.
To help address this need we have developed a number of alternatives which will not only enable you to ‘weigh’ a particular fish but also gain an …

Floy Dart tags as used by the SSTP are widely used around the world and as such the effects of dart tagging is well researched. While healing from a tag may take longer than a normal wound due to the presence of the tag, the shark’s body will eventually form an area of fibrous scar tissue around the tag site. It is important to note that in the scientific study by Heupel & Bennett (1997) – cited in the above article – tagging produced only minor, localized disruption in sharks …

In the first of our guest articles, Dr Farrell discusses some identification issues surrounding smooth-hound species in north-east Atlantic waters and the work he has carried out in an attempt to resolve these issues.
Species Identification and Biology
The first and main question that always seems to arise when talking about smooth-hounds is “what species is it?” There are many species of smooth-hound around the world but in European waters there are only three: the starry smooth-hound (Mustelus asterias), the common smooth-hound (Mustelus mustelus) and the blackspotted smooth-hound (Mustelus punctulatus), with the …

This week the SSTP are proud to present a series of guest articles by Dr Edward Farrell. Dr Farrell is the chairman of the Irish Elasmobranch Group, Co-regional Vice Chair of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group and member of the European Elasmobranch Association Scientific Committee; in a series of articles for tagsharks.com Dr Farrell will discuss his work on the identification issues surrounding smooth-hound in the north-east Atlantic.
Many anglers around Scotland fish for and tag smooth-hound so we are sure you will find this article extremely interesting and informative! …

Here is a fine example of an infographic from the Discovery Channel.
Note :: It is quite a large image so may take a while to download.
 

Today we look at the Blackmouth Dogfish in the tenth of our Species Fishing and ID guides.
If you have a picture of yourself with a Blackmouth Dogfish and want to show it off on this page please send it to contact@ssacn.org or post it on the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme’s Facebook page! Remember to keep checking www.tagsharks.com to make sure you don’t miss your chance to show off your PB shark, skate or ray!

Biology
Other Names: Galeus melastomus, Blackmouth Catshark
Description: Blackmouth’s are a slender dogfish with a distinct marbled brown …

Today we look at the Starry Smoothhound in the ninth of our Species Fishing and ID guides.
If you have a picture of yourself with a Starry Smoothhound and want to show it off on this page please send it to contact@ssacn.org or post it on the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme’s Facebook page! Remember to keep checking www.tagsharks.com to make sure you don’t miss your chance to show off your PB shark, skate or ray!

Biology
Other Names: Mustelus asterias
Description: Slender shark with grey/sandy brown dorsal surface, white ventral surface and two large …

Today we look at the Cuckoo Ray in the eighth of our Species Fishing and ID guides.
If you have a picture of yourself with a Cuckoo Ray and want to show it off on this page please send it to contact@ssacn.org or post it on the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme’s Facebook page! Remember to keep checking www.tagsharks.com to make sure you don’t miss your chance to show off your PB shark, skate or ray!

Biology
Other Names: Leucoraja naevus
Description: Small to medium sized ray with a sand coloured dorsal surface with two …

Today we look at the Spotted Ray in the seventh of our Species Fishing and ID guides.
If you have a picture of yourself with a Spotted Ray and want to show it off on this page please send it to contact@ssacn.org or post it on the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme’s Facebook page! Remember to keep checking www.tagsharks.com to make sure you don’t miss your chance to show off your PB shark, skate or ray!

Biology
Other Names: Raja montagui, Starry Ray, Homelyn Ray
Description: Small to medium sized ray with a sandy …

Today we look at the Blonde Ray in the sixth of our Species Fishing and ID guides.
If you have a picture of yourself with a Blonde Ray and want to show it off on this page please send it to contact@ssacn.org or post it on the Scottish Shark Tagging Programme’s Facebook page! Remember to keep checking www.tagsharks.com to make sure you don’t miss your chance to show off your PB shark, skate or ray!

Biology
Other Names: Raja brachyura
Description: Large ray with a sandy brown dorsal surface with some large light spots …