Dover sole

Solea solea

5: Avoid How we work out the ratings

What to check for

Location

English Channel (East)

Technical location

Atlantic, Northeast, English Channel (East)

Caught by

Net (gill or fixed)

Rating summary

Eastern English Channel sole biomass is below safe biological levels and there is no recovery plan in place. Gillnets can be very size selective for the target fish but can be unselective at the species level for both non-target fish and for mammals, birds and turtles.Rating last updated July 2024.

Technical consultation summary

Spawning-stock biomass (SSB) has been on a downward trend since 2014. In 2023 and 2024, it is below Blim (11,181 tonnes) and there is no recovery plan in place. Gillnets can be very size selective for the target fish but can be unselective at the species level for both non-target fish and for mammals, birds and turtles.

How we worked out this Rating

Eastern English Channel sole is a critical fail as biomass is outside safe biological levels.Stock assessments are carried out annually by the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The most recent assessment was published in 2024.Spawning-stock biomass (SSB) has been on a downward trend since 2014. In 2023 and 2024, it is below Blim (11,181 tonnes) and there is no recovery plan in place. In 2024, SSB is 10,467 tonnes.Fishing pressure (F) has shown a decreasing trend since 2008 and is now around FMSY (0.23) at 0.22.ICES advises that when the MSY approach is applied, catches in 2025 should be no more than 1,209 tonnes. This is a 19.6% decrease as a result of a lower stock size at the start of the advice year compared to the previous advice (including a lower recruitment estimated for 2023 than assumed last year), and lower target F for the advice year.

References

ASCOBANS, 2009. Conservation Plan for Harbour Porpoises in the North Sea as adopted at the 6th Meeting of the Parties to ASCOBANS, Bonn, Germany. 16 - 18 September 2009. Available at https://www.ascobans.org/sites/default/files/document/ASCOBANS_NorthSeaPlan_MOP6.pdf [Accessed on 12.07.2024].Calderan, S. and Leaper, R., 2019. Review of harbour porpoise bycatch in UK waters and recommendations for management. January 2019, WWF. Available at https://www.wwf.org.uk/sites/default/files/2019-04/Review_of_harbour_porpoise_in_UK_waters_2019.pdf [Accessed on 12.07.2024].Carlén, I., Nunny, L. and Simmonds, M. P. 2021. Out of Sight, Out of Mind: How Conservation Is Failing European Porpoises. Frontiers in Marine Science. Available at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.617478/full [Accessed on 12.07.2024].Chadwick, H., Clear, N., Crosby, A., Hawtrey-Collier, A. and Williams, R. 2019 Annual Report. Marine Strandings in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Available at https://www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/2020-12/2019%20Summary%20Report%20-%20Marine%20Strandings%20in%20Cornwall%20and%20the%20Isles%20of%20Scilly.pdf [Accessed on 12.07.2024].Clean Catch UK. Joint Action To Reduce Wildlife Bycatch. Available at https://www.cleancatchuk.com/ [Accessed on 12.07.2024].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].ICES, 2018. ICES Advice: Bycatch of small cetaceans and other marine animals - review of national reports under Council Regulation (EC) No. 812/2004 and other information. Published 11 September 2018. Available at https://www.ices.dk/sites/pub/Publication%20Reports/Advice/2018/2018/byc.eu.pdf [Accessed on 12.07.2024].Leeney, R. H., Amies, R., Broderick, A.C., Witt, M. J., Loveridge, J., Doyle, J. and Godley, B. J. 2008. Spatio-temporal analysis of cetacean strandings and bycatch in a UK fisheries hotspot. Biodiversity and Conservation. 17, 2323. Available at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10531-008-9377-5#citeas [Accessed on 12.07.2024].Leeney, R. H., Witt, M. J., Broderick, A. C., Buchanan, J., Jarvis, D. S., Richardson, P. B. and Godley, B. J. 2011. Marine megavertebrates of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly: relative abundance and distribution. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 92(8), 1823-1833. Available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-marine-biological-association-of-the-united-kingdom/article/marine-megavertebrates-of-cornwall-and-the-isles-of-scilly-relative-abundance-and-distribution/7981AA197C2320B6A9E2C01BD7A1F7B7 [Accessed on 12.07.2024].Moan, A., Skern-Mauritzen, M., Vølstad, J. H., Bjørge, A. 2020. Assessing the impact of fisheries-related mortality of harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) caused by incidental bycatch in the dynamic Norwegian gillnet fisheries, ICES Journal of Marine Science, Volume 77, Issue 7-8, Pages 3039–3049. Available at https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsaa186 [Accessed on 12.07.2024].North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission and the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research. 2019. Report of Joint IMR/NAMMCO International Workshop on the Status of Harbour Porpoises in the North Atlantic. Tromsø, Norway. Available at https://www.ascobans.org/sites/default/files/document/ascobans_ac25_inf.4.3a_joint-imr-nammco-ws-harbour-porpoise.pdf [Accessed on 12.07.2024].Omeyer, L. C. M., Doherty, P. D., Dolman, S., Enever, R., Reese, A., Tregenza, N., Williams, R. and Godley, B. J. 2020. Assessing the Effects of Banana Pingers as a Bycatch Mitigation Device for Harbour Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena). Frontiers in Marine Science. Available at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00285/full [Accessed on 12.07.2024].OSPAR, 2017. Intermediate Assessment 2017: Harbour Porpoise Bycatch. Available at https://oap.ospar.org/en/ospar-assessments/intermediate-assessment-2017/biodiversity-status/marine-mammals/harbour-porpoise-bycatch/ [Accessed on 12.07.2024].