# Why kill the Skates ???



## BULLDAWG (Aug 28, 2003)

I've never seen people so into killing skates on the piers as here in Va. !!! You see people who have not caught a fish all day hook into a fish and get excited only to find out its a skate and cuss and stab the heck out of it then throw it back out into the water!!! You would think they would be thankfull they finally had something to pull in but instead stab the fish that gave them that opportunity!! Then they toss the mangled skate over the side to die and decay on the bottom . What do they think the skates do??? They eat the crap on the bottom and help keep the ecosystem clean !! The bay is in enough trouble without these people killing the natural animals that help it survive!! I fish as much as possible keeping what I eat and releasing the rest and following the guidelines of the size and catch limits wherever I'm fishing so I'm not against catching fish in any way. What I can't stand is when people have such disregard for their environment and then turn to it for sport or pleasure and abuse it!!!!
This has been bugging me since saturday when I went to CBBT and saw nothing caught but Skates and baby Blues and the skates were getting mangled and I had to explain to my son that not all fisherman respect life as they should and it really ruined a good outing. I did see one striper caught that was short but they insisted on keeping that even though we told them the limits and regs but no one seemed to give a damn.No more CBBT for me.


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## Anthony (Jul 3, 2002)

It sucks that you had to experience that. Most of the time when you see something like that, it's never serious fisherman who does things like that. I know that there is a dnr number that you can call but they usually don't show up fast enough to catch them in the act. I saw a guy this year catch a 26 inch striper the day before trophy season started in MD and it was gut hooked. He insisted on getting his hook out. It was bleeding pretty bad and didn't look like it was going to make it. So he decided to keep it . We told him the regulations and he left shortly after that. It sucks that things like that happen all the time.


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## jay (Feb 19, 2004)

sorry but that is just how it is, the skates r a nuisance and thier over populated. What u see people killing is not even making a mark in the amount in the bay. The main reason thier killed is that if u see any catch any- then you'll have a less chance of catching actual fish-fish- they run them off thier r so many reasons I can't explain them all ask anybody else... And the reason their throwing them back over is that a skate sees one dead one or smells one dead one it will tend to run the rest off ... sorry mate that's just how it is


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## chest2head&glassy (Jul 2, 2002)

One word that explains it: Ignorance

I applaud you Bull Dawg on letting the person that caught the shortie (notice I didn't call that person a fisherman) that it didn't meet the minimum length. Also for explaining to your fishing partner (son) on what he is observing. 

That just gets me why people can't follow rules. Remember, if you have a cell phone handy, there's a number on the sleeve of the license with some numbers.


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## rockhead (Nov 6, 2002)

I have to disagree with jay on the skate topic, if all you are catching is skates its time to go somewhere else. I dont think they are overpopulated they probably exist at the level they should be at. and I doubt that throwing a dead one in the water will scare others away. I dont condone sinceless killing, get out your pliers, step on the tail, dislodge your hook, and throw em back over. whats the big deal.


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## mitchmtm1 (Aug 11, 2003)

The skates are a nuisance!! they are over populated, and many people get frustrated by thinking that they caught moby dick and the end up with a ray or skate. Fear of getting "stung" is also a contributing factor...thats why some cut the tail off even if they let it live.

Rays and skates do destroy the oyster beds in the bay. I don't think this is why most people kill them, BUT the oysters are hurting and they are much more important to the bays ecosystem than the rays and skates.


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## fishyakker (Jul 11, 2003)

Jay,

Skates are overpopulated? What is your basis for such an argument? Have you participated in some biological survey? I've caught over 100 stripers in a night, so maybe they are overpopulated too. Maybe we should just kill them all also. Gosh Darn stripers! Did this same survey show skates swimming for their lives when they saw one of their mangled family members sinking to the bottom? In agreement with the last post, this is just plain ignorance, and your reply is the most ignorant and idiotic thing I have ever read in my entire life. Even if it was written in English, I would still think you're a really great guy who just unfortunately doesn't know a lot about skates. If I were you, I would start with literacy, and then I would go into a deeper understanding of the habits and current state of the clear-nosed skate within the Chesapeake Bay.


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## Anthony (Jul 3, 2002)

No need for personal attacks here. Jay was just stating his opinion. If you don't agree with it then just say so but you do not need to attack him. I also disagree with his statement but there is no need for personally attacking him. Personally I feel that there is no need to just kill something just because it's a "nuisance", they are just trying to eat like everything else in the ocean.


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## rockhead (Nov 6, 2002)

yeeow hot topic, let me say that skates are a nuisance, but to me it is very obvious when I hooked one, the strike(or lack of) and the seemingly dead weight followed by a weak run I would never think I have moby dick, but on a very slow day this weak fight can be enough to entertain for a while.. as far as getting stung/cutting tails you would have to cut the tail right where it juts out from the main body, that is where the sting barb is, and its very easy to avoid, just step on the tip of the tail! I have seen alot of cut tails but almost never in the right spot.


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## jay (Feb 19, 2004)

look dudes i'm sorry but, i cut my line when i catch them I've had a bad history w/skates cause I was stung out in the water when i was a kid, I'm just saying what people told me to do. Sorry i said any thing


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## Talapia (Apr 27, 2003)

Jay.....I am suprised that a regular P&S poster 
would make a statement like that about
ANY kind of marine life. 

fishyakker, I see you have all of 6 posts to 
your credit here on P&S. You might want 
to just chill out and get to know some of 
the folks here before making comments 
like that. (I should know, I made the same 
mistakes when I first started posting)

EVERYBODY HAVE A FUN AND SAFE 
MEMORIAL DAY - AND LETS ALL TRY
TO REMEMBER WHO WE ARE HONORING.


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## Danielkmai (Jun 13, 2002)

Skates and Rays…

Actually up here in Northern Virginia in the big Korean Markets like “Super H,” The have a Huge Seafood section and they sell Skate wings for $3.99lb.....the wings are skinned and pure white meat.

As for me I love to just fish and don’t really eat a lot of fish. And the fish I usually do catch I give away. So I can’t tell you if the wings taste good or not. But if they sale them I’m sure someone likes to eat them. I think long ago Fishermen, use to take Sting Ray wings for Scallops?

But I agree with most people, don’t kill the animal if your not going to eat it.


Danielkmai


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## fishyakker (Jul 11, 2003)

Jay was not stating his opinion, he was stating facts. These baseless facts were unfounded and lacking any type of reasoning other than it justified such ridiculous and unnecessary behavior. That in my book is just plain ignorance, and I called him on it. You guys who disagree with Jay should also give him more ridicule for spewing such rhetoric instead of respecting his "opinion". My "attack" was simply a way of illustrating that most marine biologists who are so familiar with the life of the skate would normally be educated enough to know how to write.


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## jay (Feb 19, 2004)

nui·sance ( P ) Pronunciation Key (nsns, ny-)
n. 
-One that is inconvenient, annoying, or vexatious; a bother: -
Having to stand in line was a nuisance. The disruptive child was a nuisance to the class.

----see I was saying that thier annoying to catch---


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## Talapia (Apr 27, 2003)

Moderator, 

Please handle. Thanks.


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## chest2head&glassy (Jul 2, 2002)

We're all entitled to opinions, let's just not make it personal attacks.
In my defense, my "ingorance" statement was not directed to anyone (Jay) - it took me 20 mins to write that (between interruptions and calls at work). I thought I was the first to reply to Bull's thread but then realized there were a couple posts and Jay's post right before mine by the time I posted.
So, sorry Jay if it looked like I was personally attacking you, that was not my intent.

Hope everyone gets some pullage this weekend, even if it is from a skate.


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## HighCap56 (Oct 21, 2003)

*No Stinger*

Guys - Skates DO NOT have a barbed stinger and cannot hurt you. They do have a horn in their mouth that could give you a jab, but you certainly won't suffer from it.

I think cutting off the tails is done from ignorance more than need.

I have been hit by a Pacific Ray with a poison barbed stinger and never want to have that pleasure again, or the bit of Portugese Man-o- War tenticle that wrapped around my leg one time.

Let nature take care of nature. Throw em back.

Bob


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## HighCap56 (Oct 21, 2003)

*Facts*

Skates (order Rajiformes):

each pelvic fin divided into two lobes 
tail relatively stocky, *without a stinging spine * 
tail usually with two small dorsal fins near its tip and a tiny caudal fin (some forms lack dorsal and caudal fins) 

many have enlarged, thorn-like scales ('bucklers') along the midline of back and tail; enlarged scales also occur along the side of the body (near the pectoral fin base) in some species 
males have rows of enlarged scales near the eyes and wingtips (termed 'malar' and 'alar' spines, respectively)


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## Dr. Bubba (Nov 9, 1999)

Moderator currently does not have computer access...

I won't attack Jay, but his stated opinion was certainly uninformed. I also can find no evidence of skates and rays destroying oyster habitat or that oysters are much more important to the bays ecosystem.

That being said, I personally don't believe in wanton killing of any fish because they are bothersome or a nuisance. So, I understand yakker's frustration.


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## buckshot (Mar 3, 2004)

*just my 2 cents*

every creature has the right to live its not right to kill just cause it mad you mad. all my friends have mad me mad once or twice in my life but i have not killed them yet. and thowing the dead back only brings in more. they have no trouble feeding on there own kind. if your not going to eat it leave it. as far as stingers go i did not think they had them, rays do and you can cut the stinger off and they will grow a new one in a few days it does not harm them at all they are made to grow back when one stings something a lot of times the stinger gets pulled out and a few days later they have a new one i try not to have to cut them off if i can. but some times you don't have a choice. that and if your scared of what you might catch then maybe you shouldn't fish then you don't have to worry about them.


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## Talapia (Apr 27, 2003)

N/A


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## Thrifty Angler (May 5, 2002)

*Simple solution.........as easy as 1,2,3*

Make your own leaders.......cut the line as often as is necessary.
Use circle hooks...................pop em out in a flash.
Respool your reel.................as often as is needed.

Keeping the cost down should help in keeping the frustration level down.

On the other hand................pulling up those skate and rays allows one more time to fish. Less time needed to go to the gym.

I wonder though if all these rays are hugging the coast cause sharks are looming in the area.....or whether making em chum by cutting em is drawing the sharks to the area.

Now where's my 98 cents?


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## rockhead (Nov 6, 2002)

I know its friday and all but i cant get any work done with all these new post to read!


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## Talapia (Apr 27, 2003)

Yeah, there sure are a lot of us on here
today! We are all chomping at the bit
to go fishing!


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## Thrifty Angler (May 5, 2002)

That or trying to look like you're keeping busy working. 

TGIF


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## fishyakker (Jul 11, 2003)

Sorry Talapia. I have edited my original post. Tight Lines all.


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## Thrifty Angler (May 5, 2002)

*Geeze fishyakker*

Why did ya go and eat your own words. Now that just makes all us look ignorant...........posting our opinions to a non existent subject matter.:jawdrop: 

Guess everyone has to get back to work now.


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## Talapia (Apr 27, 2003)

It's all good. If your ever in my neck of the woods
(DC/MD) the first beer/soda is on me.

Have a good holiday


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## Cdog (Mar 18, 2002)

I earned th nickname PETA on Sea Gull a coulpe of years ago for yelling at stupid people that would maim skates for no reason. Some people listened an stopped, others didn't.

Hopefully this thread will produce a good result in educating some.

Ignorance is cureable. Stupidity is not.


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## chest2head&glassy (Jul 2, 2002)

fishyakker said:


> *Sorry Talapia. I have edited my original post. Tight Lines all. *


 You did? Oh, I see, you called him a "great guy". Tight lines. 

Hey Cdog, I'll stop by PETA downtown Norfolk and pick up some bumper stickers for you. I just rode by there and I saw a car that had, "Dead Things Should Be Buried, Not Eaten." That'll look good next to your FHB sticker.


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## Talapia (Apr 27, 2003)

Caught the tone of the "edit" but 
decided that nuff is nuff. I will
be down in the VA area doing some
croaker and hopefully spot fishing
this weekend on a charter out of the
rapp river. I will give a good report
when I get back. Has anybody
else had problems getting 
bloodworms?


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## Salty (Jan 10, 2000)

Everyones got an opinion and mine is that this thread is dead.


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