There is a possibility that this species is a complex, similar to the Dipturus batis-complex, but further taxonomic work is required (Iglésias et al. 2010, Last et al. 2016).

The Longnosed Skate (Dipturus oxyrinchus) is a large (to ~150 cm total length) deepwater skate found in the Northeast and Eastern Central Atlantic Ocean, from Norway to Senegal, and the Mediterranean Sea. It occurs on the outer continental shelf and slopes at depths of 70–1,230 m, but is most common at depths greater than 200 m. The Longnosed Skate is reported from demersal deepwater trawl and longline fisheries across its range. Large population declines and localized extinctions across the Northeast Atlantic have been documented for various large-bodied skates, including other Dipturus spp., although these have mostly been species that occur mainly on the continental shelf. While fishing regulations limit the depths that can be fished by trawl and gillnet in the Northeast Atlantic, there are a range of outer shelf fisheries that interact with Longnosed Skate, and also deepwater fisheries elsewhere in its range. There is high distribution overlap with intensive fishing pressure, reported declines in part of its range, and a lack of species-specific management across its entire range. Due to the lack of species-specific data in the Northeast Atlantic where large-bodied Dipturus spp. have undergone large declines and localised extinctions, a precautionary approach leads the Longnosed Skate to a suspected population reduction of 30–49% over the past three generation lengths (45 years), based on abundance data and actual levels of exploitation, and it is assessed as Vulnerable A2bd.

The Longnosed Skate is found in the Northeast and Eastern Central Atlantic Ocean, from Norway to Senegal, and the Mediterranean Sea (Last et al. 2016, Ebert and Dando 2021).

There are no data available on the absolute global population size of the Longnosed Skate. Genetic results suggest there are regional differences between the North Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea populations (Griffiths et al. 2011).

In the Northeast Atlantic, the Longnosed Skate has been confused with other Dipturus spp. The Longnosed Skate is infrequently reported, however, when a landings prohibition of the "common skate" (Dipturus spp.) complex and the Norwegian Skate (D. nidarosienis) was introduced in 2009, there was an increase in declared landings of the Longnosed Skate (ICES 2022). Landings of Dipturus spp. are suspected to be confounded, making it difficult to assign declines in abundance to species. The ‘common skate complex’ disappeared from much of the Northeast Atlantic over the latter half of the 20th century (Ellis et al. 2021). While this may suggest that comparable declines may also have occurred for Longnosed Skate, the deeper habitats occupied by this species will have likely provided refuge from the areas of highest fishing activity. Estimated landings from Portugal between 2005 and 2021 have fluctuated from 16–75 tonnes (t) per year (ICES 2022).

In the Mediterranean Sea, the Longnosed Skate is likely to have undergone some regional decline in the shallower part of its distribution. Large declines (>90%) or the altogether disappearance of other continental slope species have been documented across the region between 1940/50s–1990s (Aldebert 1997). Data collected during the MEDiterranean International Trawl Survey (MEDITS) have generally been analysed and reported in a range of publications with differing spatial and temporal scales. The species is not consistently reported in MEDITS surveys (e.g., Marongiu et al. 2017). In the western Mediterranean Sea, MEDITS data showed an overall decreasing trend but stable standardized biomass estimates for the Longnosed Skate (Ramírez-Amaro et al. 2020). The overall abundance trend for the species from MEDITS data showed a variable but stable trend between 1994 and 2021 (MEDITS, unpub. data).

In the Eastern Central Atlantic, both overall catch and effort have continued to rise in the major shark and ray fishing countries including Mauritania. Although other species of skates are sometimes recorded in landings, this species has largely gone undetected even though many trawl fisheries operate throughout most of this species' range, especially off Mauritania and Senegal. This likely reflects its preference for deep-water habitats across the Eastern Central Atlantic. In Mauritania, landings of all skates (family Rajidae) from the Spanish trawl fishery for Black Hake (Merluccius senegalensis and M. polli) operating in depths of 140–750 m fell from 18 t in 1992 to 9 t in 2001 (Fernández et al. 2005). This would equate to a population reduction of more than 99% over the past three generation lengths (64.5 years) at fishing locations. However, it is important to note that these declines could be attributed to changes in the fishing fleet, economics, and likely overexploitation of both the target and bycatch species (Fernández et al. 2005).

Based on documented and inferred declines in parts of its range (Mediterranean Sea), overlap with fishing pressure and some refuge at depth, and a precautionary approach based on dramatic declines in the similarly large-bodied congener common skate complex, a global population reduction of 30–49% was suspected over three generation lengths (45 years) based on abundance data and actual levels of exploitation. Therefore, the Longnosed Skate is assessed as Vulnerable A2bd.

The Longnosed Skate is demersal on the outer continental and insular shelves and slopes at depths of 70–1,230 m, and is most common in waters deeper than 200 m (Last et al. 2016). It reaches a maximum size of ~150 cm total length (TL) (Serena 2005, Last et al. 2016, Ebert and Dando 2021). Males mature at 70–90 cm TL and ~12 years of age, females mature at 90–100 cm TL, and size-at-hatching is ~17 cm TL (Serena 2005, Last et al. 2016, Bellodi et al. 2017). Reproduction is oviparous with egg cases measuring 10–15 cm in length and are laid mainly from February to May (Serena 2005). Female age-at-maturity is estimated at 13 years with a maximum age of 17 years (Bellodi et al. 2017). This results in a generation length of 15 years.

In the Northeast Atlantic, skates have been landed since the 1800s (Ellis et al. 2010). Previously largely unregulated, fishing quotas for skates in the North Sea were only introduced in 1999, and extended to all vessels operating in European Union (EU) waters in 2009 (EC 1999, 2009). Earlier management treated skates as one complex, but species-specific measures were only first introduced in 2007 (Ellis et al. 2010). The Longnosed Skate is caught in mixed demersal fisheries, but catches are difficult to quantify because of identification issues. Prohibitions on landings of Common Blue Skate (Dipturus batis) complex and Norwegian Skate (D. nidarosiensis) preceded an increase in declared landings of Longnosed Skate (ICES 2022). It is not clear what proportion of these landings are actually Longnosed Skate.

Long-term fishing pressure has led to documented population reductions, localized extinctions, and widespread changes to the shark and ray community structure across the range of the Longnosed Skate in the Northeast Atlantic (Dulvy and Reynolds 2002, Marandel et al. 2019). These effects were greatest for large-bodied species that could not withstand the pressures of overexploitation and these species were replaced in the marine environment by more productive, small-bodied species (Dulvy et al. 2000, Ellis et al. 2010, Sguotti et al. 2016). The Longnosed Skate is reported infrequently from demersal deepwater trawl and longline fisheries, but is taken in greater quantities in Iberian waters (ICES 2022).

In the Mediterranean Sea, the Longnosed Skate has been subject to intensive deepwater fishing across much of the known distribution. For example, trawl fisheries for deepwater red shrimps (Aristeus antennatus and Aristaeomorpha foliacea) have been in operation since the 1930s in the Western Mediterranean and have since expanded into the Eastern Mediterranean since the early 2000s (Kapiris et al. 2022). These fisheries mostly operate at depths from 400 to 800 m (Kapiris et al. 2022, Pulcinella et al. 2023). The species is caught as bycatch in demersal trawl and longline fisheries (Ellis et al. 2015, Başusta and Ozel 2022). It has a low commercial value and is often discarded (Melis et al. 2020), but is landed by other fleets. Post-release mortality is not quantified.

There is little information available for the Longnosed Skate across the remainder of its range. However, in the Eastern Central Atlantic, sharks and rays have been exploited by semi-industrial fisheries since in the 1950s (Walker et al. 2005). Over the years, this has expanded into targeted shark and ray fisheries across many countries and is likely increasing fishing pressure on this species (Walker et al. 2005, Diop and Dossa 2011). Reports indicate that the diversity and average body size of many important commercial coastal, demersal, and pelagic fishery species have markedly declined with many stocks now considered to be overexploited (CCLME 2016, Polidoro et al. 2017). The direct cause of decline for many of these stocks has been attributed to overcapacity within both the industrial and artisanal fisheries and destructive fishing practices (GCLME 2006, CCLME 2016).

Mixed fishery bilateral agreements between the European Union and the West African nations (Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements, SFPAs) have introduced a number of European distant-water industrial vessels using demersal trawls (European Commission 2023). For example, off Mauritania, fisheries for deepwater shrimps operate at depths of 400–950 m, and fisheries for black hake (Merluccius senegalensis and M. polli) operate mainly at depths 500–700 m (Fernandez Peralta et al. 2019). In these trawl fisheries, unidentified deepwater sharks and rays have accounted for approximately 10% of landings (Fernandez Peralta et al. 2019), but further information on bycatch species in these fisheries is largely unknown.

Climate change has influenced the distributions of many European fish populations, including skates, in a manner that may influence the assessment of population trends and the potential viability of subpopulations (Simpson et al. 2011, Sguotti et al. 2016).

The Longnosed Skate has been utilized for its meat in the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea, and product may have been mislabelled as other skate species or sold under a generic "skate" product (Iglésias et al. 2010, Giovos et al. 2021). The species is likely to be used across the remainder of its range where retention is allowed or unregulated. Skate meat is consumed across West Africa and it may also be dried or dried and smoked and exported across the region to supply countries such as Guinea, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, and Burkina Faso (e.g., Jabado et al. 2021).

There are no species-specific management measures for the Longnosed Skate. In the European and United Kingdom waters of the Northeast Atlantic, skates are managed with catch quotas for "skates and rays" (Rajiformes) (ICES 2022). Improved taxonomic resolution with Dipturus spp. is required to ensure the Longnosed Skate can be identified and monitored at the species level. Further information is required on its distribution, ecology, life history, and interactions with fisheries, throughout its range.