Other useful background publications

Ashworth, R.E.T, Fernandes, P.G., Kaiser, M.J., (Heriot-Watt University), Dodd, J., Donnan, D. (NatureScot) 2026. Local ecological knowledge from the Scottish fishing fleet on the critically endangered flapper skate (Dipturus intermedius). NatureScot Research Report 1390.
https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-research-report-1390-loca   
Sharks and skates of Scotland: An overview of the elasmobranch fauna of Scottish seas 2026 (aka the SIORC Report) - Flapper skate
https://www.nature.scot/doc/sharks-and-skates-scotland-report-fl   
Régnier, T., Gibb, F.M., Clarke, J., Langton, R., Kinnear, S. and Boulcott, P. 2024. Elasmobranch distributions and interactions with fisheries. NatureScot Research Report 1365.
https://www.nature.scot/doc/naturescot-research-report-1365-elas   
Oceanographic Magazine - Is Artificial Intelligence the flapper skate's best hope for survival? (8th Apr 2025)
Link to article   
The Guardian - AI scanning helps Scottish conservation project turn tide for flapper skate (5th Apr 2025)
Link to article   
Bache-Jeffreys, M., de Moraes, B.L.C., Ball, R.E. et al. (2021). Resolving the spatial distributions of Dipturus intermedius and Dipturus batis—the two taxa formerly known as the ‘common skate’. Environmental Biology of Fishes 104, 923–936.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-021-01122-7   
Rindorf, A., Gislson, H., Ellis, J.R. & Reid, D. (2020). Are fish sensitive to trawling recovering in the Northeast Atlantic? Journal of Applied Ecology, 57(10), 1936–1947.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13693   
Iglésias, S., Toulhoat, L. & Sellos, D. (2010). Taxonomic confusion and market mislabelling of threatened skates: important consequences for their conservation status. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 20(3), 319–333.
https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.1083