Maine Seafood Guide – Skate
Skate
_(27104652233).jpg)
Species Description
Five species of skate occurring in the Gulf of Maine are considered commercially important, for either food or bait:
Barndoor skate Dipturus laevis
Little skate Leucoraja erinacea
Smooth skate Malacoraja senta
Thorny skate Amblyraja radiata
Winter skate Leucoraja ocellata
Skates are bottom-dwelling, egg-laying fish related to sharks and stingrays. The primary target species in the skate fishery are winter and little skates. Winter skates are harvested for their wings for human consumption and little skates are harvested as bait for lobster and other fisheries.
Season
Year-round.
Status
Winter, smooth, and little skate are at sustainable levels. Overfishing (both targeted and accidental bycatch) of Thorny skate is occurring, and is a prohibited (zero-possession, mandatory-release) species. Barndoor skate populations were depleted due to overfishing by foreign fleets and in 2003 they were put under a fishery management plan and harvest was prohibited; the population rebounded, and barndoor skates were declared rebuilt in 2018.
Regulatory Authority
New England Fishery Management Council.
Harvest Method
Otter trawl; groundfish vessels are allowed to land a regulated amount of skate. See the vessel and gear guide for more information.
Recreational Harvest
Possession of thorny, smooth, and barndoor skates is prohibited.
There is no minimum size and no bag limit for little and winter skate.
Health Benefits & Risks
Skate is low in fat and cholesterol. The FDA reported a single sample of mercury in skate that suggests the levels are low, but human consumption of skate is not well-studied. Skates, like sharks, contain urea in their flesh and this can break down and release ammonia if the wings are not properly washed and iced
.View the 2021 US Food and Drug Administration’s fish consumption guidelines.
Buying & Preparing
Skate is not commonly found in most retail markets in Maine, but may occasionally appear in specialty seafood shops or on restaurant menus. The edible portion is the wing, which is typically sold as fillets that resemble an open fan, with long, striated bands of muscle tissue.
When cooked, skate has a delicate texture similar to scallops or crab meat, with a mild, sweet, slightly shellfish-like flavor. It’s best pan-seared, poached, or sautéed in butter, and is often served with simple accompaniments like capers, lemon, or brown butter sauce.