– What the hell have we really got here? That was the question the fisherman Lars-Ivar Dale had to ask himself when he pulled up the net from the sea in the north of Øygarden near Bergen, outside Nautnes. Dale saw it was a skate, but couldn’t make out what kind it was. – Then I had to throw away my cards, and sought out the research environment to find this out, he says to news. UNKNOWN: Lars-Ivar Dale had not seen this type of skate before. Photo: Privat The species of fish in question is a small-eyed skate known as Raja microocellata, says fish biologist at the University of Tromsø, Arve Lynghammar. – Unfortunately for science, Lars-Ivar Dale eventually released the fish back into the water, which he later regrets a little. – In retrospect, it would have been possible to take care of it, he says. It is also something the fish biologist would have been interested in. – Unfortunately for science, it was released again. Nevertheless, it is so characteristic that there is no doubt about which species it is, he says. For him, ideally the fish would have been preserved in a museum, in addition to taking various samples of the fish. Arve Lynghammar is associated with the Norwegian Fisheries College, which is subordinate to the University of Tromsø. Photo: Privat The newly discovered fish is a bottom-water species, which usually stays in British waters around Ireland, explains Lynghammar. The skate species that has now been discovered has never been seen or captured in Norway before. – Every now and then a new species of fish appears in Norway, so it’s not completely new – but it’s not common either, he says. ON DECK: When news spoke to Dale on Wednesday morning, he was out on the lake with a school class to try his luck again. Photo: Privat Points to climate change Why and how it has come to Norway is difficult to know for sure. – Temperatures have increased in the water recently, which may make them think it is comfortable to be in Norwegian waters. They like each other within a certain temperature range, he says. Another possibility is if there have been too many of the fish species within an area, but this is less likely, Lynghammar points out. – The third option is that someone got that hook, kept it alive, brought it here and released it into the water – but that’s not likely, he says. INVESTIGATED: The fish was caught when Dale was out fishing with a class in the north of Øygarden, outside Nautnes. Photo: Private Lynghammar points out that the species may have been in Norway for a while, but that it has not been discovered by researchers until now. The researcher believes that the fish may have swum to Norway on its own. – That makes it even more exciting, he says. The fish biologist is now asking for help from others who may have caught or photographed this species in the past. The fish is not harmful and can be eaten, explains Lynghammar. – Now it is the case that all species that enter an ecosystem have some form of influence on that system. We do not know what effect this may have, he says.
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– What the hell have we got here? – news Vestland
