Back in February Combe Martin SAC member Shaun Quartly contacted me regarding an unusual fish he had caught whilst fishing for ray from a beach near Minehead. I suggested that he should preserve the fish by freezing after weighing it and document every detail carefully as I it seemed that the fish was a very rare capture. This proved to be the case and after following all due protocol the fish has been ratified as a new British Record. In addition to being an accolade for any angler these records are also valuable in monitoring and recording species for science.
