There is no management plan in place for this stock, but some measures are in place. As this stock is data limited, this limits the effectiveness of management.Catches in this area are taken in a mixed fishery and according to ICES, should be managed as such. Constraining the landings by TAC will not constrain the catches. As sole are caught in spatially distinct areas, restricting effort in these areas will be more effective than limiting landings. The TAC is currently not restrictive, but for some countries, the quota appears to have become restrictive. In 2020, landings (284 tonnes) were 86% of the TAC (329 tonnes).Misreporting is also considered to be an issue for this stock but remains difficult to quantify. From 2016 the landings obligation was phased in for this stock, and discards are considered to be negligible.Technical measures in place for this fishery are:Minimum Conservation Reference Size (MCRS) of 24cmThe Celtic Sea Protection Zone (CSPZ) also has restrictions on fishing gearFor vessels fishing with demersal trawls and seines operating in the outer CSPZ within UK waters, the baseline mesh size is 100mm codend with a 100mm square mesh panel (not required within UK waters east of 5 degrees west).For vessels fishing with demersal trawls and seines in the outer EU CSPZ (outside UK waters), demersal trawlers and seines must operate using a 100mm codend within ICES divisions 7f-k and in the area west if longitude 5 degrees west in 7e.The geographical separation between where the landings in 7h and 7j are taken, suggests that there are two discrete fisheries occurring in the stock area. This perception is further supported by the clear variation in the gears used to catch sole within the two ICES divisions. Within 7j, sole is predominantly landed by otter trawls, whereas the 7h fishery is mainly targeted by beam trawls. ICES suggests that two separate assessments are required to effectively manage the fishery.Both the EU and UK have fishery management measures in place, which can include catch limits, targets for population sizes and fishing mortality, and controls on what fishing gear can be used and where. In the EU, compliance with regulations has been variable, and there are ongoing challenges with implementing some of them. There was a target for fishing to be at Maximum Sustainable Yield by 2020, but this was not achieved. The Landing Obligation (LO), an EU law that the UK has kept after Brexit, requires all fish and shellfish to be landed, even if they are unwanted (over-quota or below minimum size). It aims to promote more selective fishing methods, reduce bycatch, and improve recording of everything that is caught, not just what is wanted. Compliance with the LO is generally poor and actual levels of discards are difficult to quantify using the current fisheries observer programme.In the UK, it is too early to tell how effective management is, as the Fisheries Act only came into force in January 2021. The Act requires the development of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) (replacing EU Multi-Annual Plans) but there are no details yet on how and when these will be developed. FMPs have the potential to be very important tools for managing UK fisheries, although data limitations may delay them for some stocks. MCS is keen to see FMPs for all commercially exploited stocks, especially where stocks are depleted, that include:Targets for fishing pressure and biomass, and additional management when those targets are not being metTimeframes for stock recoveryTechnologies such as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) to support data collection and improve transparency and accountabilityConsideration of wider environmental impacts of the fishery
