I woke up iss mornin feelin rare! Aye, I wis feelin rare cos I’m a fine example o a flapper skate, bit syne I thocht I’m rare in anither wye inna. Did ye ken I’m even mair endangered than thon giant pandas in China or e blae whales aat sweem aboot in oceans or e mountain gorillas ower ere in Africa?
Ye’d think aat wid mean aat aabody wid ken aboot ma an aabdy wid care aboot ma inna. Bit it disnae seem tae bi e case.
Aach, bit I canna be ower doon in e moo aboot it cos e folk here at Macduff Marine Aquarium, far a bide, they fairly care aboot ma. They wir real keen tae tak ma fin I got ower big fur thon mannie’s tank oot in his garage waa up in Orkney. He’s pairt o a group aat luiks efter us flapper skates ye ken. In we fairly need luikin efter.
Waa hinnie back we hid a different name, we wir cried common skates cos ye cud fin us aa ower e place. Weel aa ower e North-East Atlantic at least. Bit noo-a-days ower habitat is a hale lot smaaer. Ye’ll only fin us in e Northern North Sea or aff Scotland’s Northwest Coast. Foo did aat cum aboot ye micht be winnerin. Weel een o e reasons wis ower muckle fishin. A hunner year ago iv ye’d geen tae Aiberdeen Hairbour ye cudda seen thoosands an thoosands o skate lyin ere on e quayside brocht in bi e fishermen.
Mebbe they didna realise jist foo slow oor life cycle is. Ken iss, us skates are nivver in a hurry tae dee onything. Fur aa thing we like bidin inside oor egg pursies fur a gye filie. I dinna ken foo lang I bid in ma case bit maist o’s are ere fur aboot eichteen month! Syne, it taks ten year fur us tae reach maturity. Sae it’ll tak a lang lang time fur us skates tae recover. Bit ere’s plunty folk geein us a haun.
Folk like e Orkney Skate Trust an Macduff Marine Aquarium. Even e Scottish Government hiv gotten in on e act! Ye see nae lang ago sum divers discovert iss muckle egg hatchery wi mair nor a thoosan egg cases, jist aff e coast o Skye. I’m fair chufft tae say they wint tae keep thim safe sae they’ve pit a protection zone roon e place sae naebdy can ging onywye near e egg cases. Wun’t it be rare iv thon thoosan egg cases aa hatch, an syne anither thoosan an anither thoosan. Mebbe bi e time am an auld mannie skate e seas roon Scotland’ll be foo o flappers!
Aah weel, a skate can dream!

Jackie Ross