Abstract

The yellownose skate (Dipturus chilensis) and roughskin skate (Dipturus trachyderma) are the only two elasmobranch species targeted by commercial fishing operations in Chile. Despite their importance, much of their biology and ecology remain poorly understood. This research aimed to evaluate the feasibility of tagging these species. In 2021, a pilot study was conducted at two locations, utilizing Petersen discs, acoustic transmitters, and pop-up satellite transmitters on both species. The results revealed a 6% recovery rate from the 50 skates tagged with Petersen discs, while 29.4% of those tagged with acoustic transmitters were successfully detected. Additionally, data from all ten satellite transmitters were successfully transmitted and recovered. The results revealed a maximum horizontal movement of 35.9 km, with the duration of liberty ranging from 8 to 275 days. Stocks of both species are currently depleted, and fishery management relies on closures and total allowable catches, where fishing effort is concentrated in short spatial and temporal windows. These particularities present significant challenges for implementing a national tagging programme, especially in terms of tag recovery. The main conclusion of this research is that the implementation of a tagging programme for both species is feasible. Satellite tagging provides the best results, but its higher implementation cost and limitations in use for relatively small skates could be mitigated by combining it with Petersen discs. Establishing a long-term tagging programme is essential for enhancing the understanding of distribution and migration patterns, which is crucial for enhancing conservation and management efforts for these skates in Chile.