Imported post
8th April 2003
Launch of the Great Eggcase Hunt
The Easter Egg Hunt with a Difference
Event: Launch of the Great Eggcase Hunt
Location: Wembury Marine Centre, Plymouth, Devon
Time and Date: 11am to 4pm, Thursday 17th April 2003
This Easter, the Shark Trust will be launching an exciting new project, the Great Eggcase Hunt. Empty skate and ray eggcases - mermaid’s purses - wash up on beaches all around the country, meaning that anyone can get involved in helping scientists to learn more about these threatened animals. Join members of the Shark Trust for a fun day of activities to launch the Hunt on the 17th April 2003 at the Devon Wildlife Trust Marine Centre, Wembury Beach, Plymouth. The event is free and open to all ages.
Skates and rays are close cousins of sharks and are members of one of the most ancient groups of fish on the planet, even older than the dinosaurs. Many skates and rays reproduce by laying leathery eggcases on the seabed, from which hatch miniature versions of their parents. The eggcases are tough and durable and storms often wash them up onto beaches to be found by keen-eyed beachcombers.
Because of over-fishing, the numbers of skate and rays around our coastline are declining dramatically and many are in danger of extinction. With a 2 metre wingspan, the Common Skate is the largest skate species in Europe. Once abundant in our seas, sadly, they have all but disappeared. The Great Eggcase Hunt will help scientists to gather information about skates and rays, which in turn will help us to protect these threatened animals.
Eggcase hunting can be done at any time of the year. Just grab your mates and head for the beach! A simple walk can turn into an exciting conservation expedition. To find out about other events happening around the country visit the Shark Trust website: www.sharktrust.org.
The launch of the Great Eggcase Hunt has been made possible by the generous support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
Skates and Ray facts:
* Skates and rays belong to the family Rajidae.
* Each species lays eggcases in different shapes and sizes, designed to be entangled in seabed plants and animals [this is only hornsharks; stick to skates and rays] or buried in the seabed.
* Common Skates lay eggcases up to 24cm long.
* Each eggcase contains a baby - or embryo – that feeds off a yolk sac, just like a chick inside a hen’s egg.
* Newly hatched sharks, skates and rays immediately feed and fend for themselves.
* Egg-laying is a relatively unusual form of reproduction among shark, skates and rays. Most sharks and stingrays give birth to live young.
* Skates and rays are predators, feeding on animals on or near the seabed.
* Skate and ray fisheries around the UK are currently virtually unmanaged, with most stocks at very low levels due to overfishing.
* Skates and rays are slow-growing and can take more than a decade to develop into mature adults capable of egg-laying – provided that they can survive unregulated fisheries for long enough.
The Shark Trust is calling for strict legal protection in British waters for the Common Skate and three other large skate species.
8th April 2003
Launch of the Great Eggcase Hunt
The Easter Egg Hunt with a Difference
Event: Launch of the Great Eggcase Hunt
Location: Wembury Marine Centre, Plymouth, Devon
Time and Date: 11am to 4pm, Thursday 17th April 2003
This Easter, the Shark Trust will be launching an exciting new project, the Great Eggcase Hunt. Empty skate and ray eggcases - mermaid’s purses - wash up on beaches all around the country, meaning that anyone can get involved in helping scientists to learn more about these threatened animals. Join members of the Shark Trust for a fun day of activities to launch the Hunt on the 17th April 2003 at the Devon Wildlife Trust Marine Centre, Wembury Beach, Plymouth. The event is free and open to all ages.
Skates and rays are close cousins of sharks and are members of one of the most ancient groups of fish on the planet, even older than the dinosaurs. Many skates and rays reproduce by laying leathery eggcases on the seabed, from which hatch miniature versions of their parents. The eggcases are tough and durable and storms often wash them up onto beaches to be found by keen-eyed beachcombers.
Because of over-fishing, the numbers of skate and rays around our coastline are declining dramatically and many are in danger of extinction. With a 2 metre wingspan, the Common Skate is the largest skate species in Europe. Once abundant in our seas, sadly, they have all but disappeared. The Great Eggcase Hunt will help scientists to gather information about skates and rays, which in turn will help us to protect these threatened animals.
Eggcase hunting can be done at any time of the year. Just grab your mates and head for the beach! A simple walk can turn into an exciting conservation expedition. To find out about other events happening around the country visit the Shark Trust website: www.sharktrust.org.
The launch of the Great Eggcase Hunt has been made possible by the generous support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation.
Skates and Ray facts:
* Skates and rays belong to the family Rajidae.
* Each species lays eggcases in different shapes and sizes, designed to be entangled in seabed plants and animals [this is only hornsharks; stick to skates and rays] or buried in the seabed.
* Common Skates lay eggcases up to 24cm long.
* Each eggcase contains a baby - or embryo – that feeds off a yolk sac, just like a chick inside a hen’s egg.
* Newly hatched sharks, skates and rays immediately feed and fend for themselves.
* Egg-laying is a relatively unusual form of reproduction among shark, skates and rays. Most sharks and stingrays give birth to live young.
* Skates and rays are predators, feeding on animals on or near the seabed.
* Skate and ray fisheries around the UK are currently virtually unmanaged, with most stocks at very low levels due to overfishing.
* Skates and rays are slow-growing and can take more than a decade to develop into mature adults capable of egg-laying – provided that they can survive unregulated fisheries for long enough.
The Shark Trust is calling for strict legal protection in British waters for the Common Skate and three other large skate species.