The skate with its unusual broad "wings" and slender rat-like tail has a number of common folk names, including skider, tinker, ginny, flanie, banjo and roker. Two species are sought: the smooth skate, R. senta, is the smaller of the two reaching a maximum of 62 centimetres and is caught from Newfoundland southward. The larger thorny skate, R. radiata, also called the starry skate and the Atlantic prickly skate, reaches almost double the size of the smooth skate and occurs through far northerly waters of West Greenland and Hudson's Bay as well as waters off the Atlantic provinces. Both species are harvested year round in deep water by otter trawl.

Skate wings are usually prepared by cutting in wide strips and are available fresh and frozen. The flesh is medium fat and white when cooked. Skate has a mildly pronounced flavor similar to scallops. The meat of the wings is the only edible part, has a striated open-fan configuration. Each wing produces two fillets, one from the top and one from the bottom. The flesh does not flake.