A new, free app is helping to build a better picture of how critically endangered flapper skates are faring around Scotland’s coasts.

A new, free app is helping to build a better picture of how critically endangered flapper skates are faring around Scotland’s coasts.

The SkateSpotter mobile app builds on the success of the online flapper skate photo database, which began when angling charter skipper, Ronnie Campbell, gave 400 digital photos of flapper skates to the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in 2018. Seven years later, SkateSpotter, curated by NatureScot with contributions by even more anglers, contains over 4,000 photos of over 2,500 individual flapper skates recognisable by their distinctive spot patterns matched with the help of AI.

With the new, free SkateSpotter app now available on the Play store and the App store, NatureScot is asking anyone who spots a flapper skate to take a picture and report it. The mobile phone app is designed to make it easier for the public to submit photos on the go but older photos can also be uploaded since the app recognises the date and time the photo was taken.