Dipturus trachydermus, Roughskin Skate

Abstract

The Roughskin Skate (Dipturus trachydermus) is a large skate (to 265 cm total length) that occurs in the Southeast Pacific and Southwest Atlantic from Coquimbo, Chile (31°S), south around Cape Horn and north to Río de la Plata, Uruguay, including the Falkland Islands (Malvinas). It is demersal on the outer continental shelf and upper slope at depths of 85–480 m, but is most commonly found at 200–350 m in Chile and shallower (80–150 m) in Argentina. It is captured in industrial trawl fisheries for hake (Merluccius spp.), and artisanal bottom longline fisheries that encompass nearly the entire geographic and depth range of this species in Chile and Argentina. In Chile, it was a secondary catch of the target skate fishery which ramped up in 1993 as a direct result of the arrival of Korean skate traders who provided a market that incentivised fishers to target and retain this species for international trade.