Shane Petit, left, and Peter Williams are having to throw £1,000-worth of ray, many of them dead, each time they go out. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 0920234)

AN EU ban on catching undulate rays is costing Guernsey trawlers around £1,000 every time they go to sea.

The ban was introduced in January last year and local fishermen say it is damaging their livelihoods.

Peter Williams, 71, and Shane Petit, 37, are two of the trawlermen affected.

‘I would say about 70% of the fish that we are catching at the moment is that particular ray,’ said Mr Williams. ‘I suppose you can say that we are chucking away 300 to 400 kilos of the fish because we cannot keep it on the boat.

‘So that is around 50% of our earnings that we are losing. I am semi-retired and it’s people like Shane, who do this full-time and have a family that are really suffering.’

All undulate ray must be promptly released, unharmed if possible.

Mr Williams said a lot of the ray would die before they could be put back.

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