Sharks, skates and rays to be monitored between Lough Foyle and Portstewart

An underwater survey of the waters between Lough Foyle and Portstewart is to be carried out to monitor sharks, rays and skates in the waters off County Londonderry and Inishowen.

Scientists from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) will use fish tracking equipment to keep an eye on the fish for the period of about a year.

A marine licence application has been made by DAERA’s Marine Conservation Team to deploy an array of underwater acoustic receivers for no longer than 12 consecutive months between 2024-2025 to monitor local elasmobranch populations in the area between Lough Foyle and Portstewart, DAERA confirmed in a public notice.

Elasmobranchs are a subclass of cartilaginous fish species that include sharks, rays and skates, many species of which live around our coasts.

The Marine and Fisheries Division DAERA, is the Marine Licensing authority for Northern Ireland and controls the deposit of materials from the high water mean spring tide mark out to 12 nautical miles.