Estimates and Implications of Skate Consumption in the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf Ecosystem

Abstract

Skates (Rajidae) currently comprise a prominent part of the northeast U.S. Continental Shelf fish community. As part of an effort to add ecological considerations into stock assessments, we evaluate the consumptive demand of the skate species in the northeast U.S. Continental Shelf ecosystem. Using food habits data and abundance indices from bottom trawl surveys, we calculate the per capita consumption, total scaled (by population size) consumption, and total consumptive removals of select prey by seven species of skates. We also sum these estimates for all seven skates and compare this consumptive demand with broader ecosystem biomass fluxes. Our results demonstrate that estimates of skate abundance have a notable impact on total consumptive removals. Total consumption by all skates is a small biomass flux relative to the total system, yet removals of certain prey by skates can be at or exceed the magnitude of fisheries for those prey species. We discuss how future stock assessments can incorporate these simple estimates and how one might address the implications of these estimates in an ecosystem context.