This is not what Skipper Gareth Laurenson expected to find on his scallop boat in St. Magnus Bay in the Shetland Islands.
Laurenson landed an electric ray, which inflicted a little bit of pain to the crew on the Braveheart, but luckily no one was seriously injured. According to The Shetland Times, this particular specimen of a fish with the potential to generate a powerful shock of up to 220 volts. At 33.5 inches, it was small – electric rays can grow to 71 inches.
Dr Ian Napier of the centre said that electric rays were rare in Shetland waters, although a small number had been caught over the years. “This is about the northernmost limit of their distribution. The last one that we know of being caught in Shetland waters was about 15 years ago.” –Brian McClintock
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