Belgian Roger Raedts and his fine 12-6-2 thornback ray. (0600804)

BELGIAN visitor Roger Raedts has filled a vacancy on the record lists that has stood since the Record Committee was formed in late 1966.

He was out with Richard Seager on Out the Blue south east of Sark when his legered mackerel strip was taken by a 12-6-2 thornback ray.

In his book, The Fishes of the British Isles and North West Europe, Alwyne Wheeler states: ‘This is the most common species of ray in British waters.’ Strangely this certainly doesn’t seem to apply to our Bailiwick, for very few of this species are reported locally.

Our normal method of fishing on the drift does not help as ray prefer a static bait, which means fishing from an anchored  boat. If more anchoring had been done over the years, it’s possible this elusive species would have been included on our record lists some time ago.