Dover sole
What to check for
Location
English Channel (East): All areas
Technical location
27 - Atlantic, Northeast, 7d: English Channel (East)
Caught by
Bottom trawl (otter)
Rating summary
Eastern English Channel sole biomass is below safe biological levels and there is no recovery plan in place. Otter trawling is likely to cause some damage to the seabed. Bycatch is moderate and may include vulnerable species.Rating last updated July 2024.
How we worked out this Rating
References
Burt, G. J., Readdy, L., Benedet, R., and Forster, R. 2021. Programme 40; Western Channel sole and plaice. Fisheries Science Partnership 2020/2021. Final Report. Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft, UK, 47 pp.
Cook, R., Gaudian, G., des Clers, S. and Seip- Markensteijn, C.M., 2022. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Public Certification Report: Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG) Northern Demersal Stocks. Prepared by Control Union (UK) Limited on behalf of Scottish Fisheries Sustainable Accreditation Group (SFSAG). May 2022. Available at https://cert.msc.org/FileLoader/FileLinkDownload.asmx/GetFile?encryptedKey=BdxOJoY7Sf4DmNJEB/m47M6xx0rRfgP/niGx3vj5Ud8hadYI3XCNrnlSFL/jlTgK [Accessed on 12.07.2024].
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. Cod Conservation measures in the Irish Sea. Available at https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/cod-conservation-measures [Accessed on 12.07.2024].
Eigaard, O.R., Bastardie, F., Breen, M., Dinesen, G.E., Hintzen, N.T., Laffargue, P., Mortensen, L.O., Nielsen, J.R., Nilsson, H.C., O'Neill, F.G., Polet, H., Reid, D.G., Sala, A., SkOld, M., Smith, C., Sorensen, T.K., Tully, O., Zengin, M., Rijnsdorp, A.D., 2016. Estimating seabed pressure from demersal trawls, seines, and dredges based on gear design and dimensions. ICES Journal of Marine Science, Volume 73, Issue suppl 1. Pages i27-i43. Available at https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article/73/suppl_1/i27/2573989 [Accessed on 12.07.2024].
Hiddink, J., Jennings, S., Sciberras, M., Szostek, C.L., Hughes, K.M., Ellis, N., Rijnsdorp, A.D., McConnaughey, R.A., Mazor, T., Hilborn, R., Collie, J.S., Pitcher, C.R., Amoroso, R.O., Parma, A.M., Suuronen, P. and Kaiser, M.J. 2017. Global analysis of depletion and recovery of seabed biota after bottom trawling disturbance. PNAS. 114:31, pp. 8301-8306. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1618858114.
ICES. 2024. Sole (Solea solea) in Division 7.d (eastern English Channel). In Report of the ICES Advisory Committee, 2024. ICES Advice 2024, sol.27.7d. Available at https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.25019675. [Accessed on 12.07.2024].
Kennelly, S. J. & Broadhurst, M. K., 2021. A review of bycatch reduction in demersal fish trawls. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 31, 289–318. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-021-09644-0.
Kynoch, R., Fryer, R. & Neat, F., 2015. A simple technical measure to reduce bycatch and discard of skates and sharks in mixed-species bottom-trawl fisheries. ICES J Mar Sci,72(6):1861.
Silva, F., Ellis, J. & Catchpole, T., 2012. Species composition of skates (Rajidae) in commercial fisheries around the British Isles and their discarding patterns. J Fish Biol., 80:1678–1703.
van Denderen, P. Bolam, S., Hiddink, J.G., Jennings, S., Kenny, A., Rijnsdorp, A., and van Kooten, T., 2015. Similar effects of bottom trawling and natural disturbance on composition and function of benthic communities across habitats. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 2015;541:31–43.
