Dover sole

Western English Channel sole stock is in a healthy state and fishing pressure is within sustainable 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.The stock assessment defines reference points for fishing pressure (F) and biomass (B). For fishing pressure, there is a target to keep F at or below Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). For biomass, there is no target. However, there is a trigger point (MSY BTrigger). Below this level, F should be reduced to allow the stock to increase. Because BMSY is not defined, the Good Fish Guide applies its own definition of 1.4 x MSY BTrigger. In 2024, spawning stock biomass (4,274 tonnes) has declined from a peak in 2020, but remains high and well above MSY Btrigger (2,900 tonnes). Fishing pressure (F) is below FMSY (0.29), at 0.26 in 2023.The base level of recruitment has remained relatively stable throughout the time series, fluctuating without major temporal trend at around 4 million recruits. There was a significant rise in recruitment in 2020 at almost 12 million recruits and this has been lower in subsequent years.ICES advises that when the MSY approach is applied, catches in 2025 should be no more than 1,151 tonnes.

There is no management plan in place for this fishery but some measures are in place, including effort and mesh restrictions.Management of this stock is mainly by total Allowable Catch (TAC). In 2005, effort restrictions were implemented for beam trawlers and entangling gears targeting sole in this fishery to enforce the TAC and improve data quality.Since 2013, Total Allowable Catches (TACs) have been in line with or below the scientific advice, and landings have been in line with TACs. Official landings in 2023 were 1,238 tonnes (preliminary), below the TAC which was set at 1394 tonnes. For 2024, the TAC was reduced to 1,184 tonnes.In this area, there is a mixed fishery for sole and plaice and the two stocks are dominant commercially caught species. There can be contrasting changes in catch advice which can lead to higher discards of plaice. In 7.e, 26% of the plaice stock was discarded, compared to 2% of the sole stock. Technical measures in place for this fishery are:Effort restrictions limiting the numbers of days at sea for vessels in this fishery using beam trawls (≥80 mm mesh size) and static nets (≤120 mm mesh size). The limits for effort are set annually in the EU council with the TAC and apply only for vessels, which catch more than 300 kg of sole annually.Baseline mesh size of 100mm with an exception to the 100mm square mesh panel in the area east of 5°W.For more information about this rating in Cornwall please visit: http://www.cornwallgoodseafoodguide.org.uk/fish-guide/sole-dover-sole.phpThe EU and UK both have fishery management measures, which can include catch limits, population targets, and gear restrictions. However, compliance in the EU and UK has been inconsistent, with ongoing challenges in implementing some regulations. The goal of reaching Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) by 2020 was missed, with less than half of UK TACs in 2024 following ICES advice. In 2024, the EU and UK reaffirmed their commitment to sustainable fisheries by aligning management with scientific advice to gradually approach MSY. However, no new target date has been set for achieving MSY across all fisheries. The Landing Obligation (LO), an EU law retained by the UK post-Brexit, requires all quota fish to be landed, even if unwanted (over-quota or below minimum size). It aims to encourage more selective fishing methods, reduce bycatch, and improve catch reporting. However, compliance is poor, and accurate discard levels are hard to quantify with current monitoring programmes. The UK is in the process of replacing the LO with country-specific Catching Policies.The Marine Conservation Society views Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) with cameras is one of the most cost-effective tools for providing reliable fisheries data and aiding informed management decisions. Fully monitored fisheries enhance collaboration, data accuracy, stock recovery, and reduce impacts on marine wildlife and habitats. However, the full potential of REM may only be achieved when it tracks fishing location and documents catch and bycatch, particularly where vulnerable species and habitats are at risk. As of January 2024, the EU is introducing a Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) mandate for EU vessels, including CCTV cameras on vessels 18m or more that pose a potential risk of non-compliance, within the next 4 years. Across the UK, different approaches to REM are being taken and legislation is expected to be in place across all 4 countries within the next few years.The Fisheries Act (2020) requires the development of Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) (replacing EU Multi-Annual Plans) in the UK. 43 FMPs have been proposed and are at various stages of development and implementation, these should all be published by the end of 2028. FMPs have the potential to be very important tools for managing UK fisheries, although data limitations may delay them for some stocks. It is also essential the UK governments define and adopt a standardised approach or model across the four nations to a universally defined FMP design, to ensure the consistence, quality and coherence of all the proposal FMPs.The Marine Conservation Society is keen to see publicly available Fishery Management Plans for all commercially exploited stocks, especially where stocks are depleted, that include:An overview of the fishery including current stock status, spatial coverage, current fishing methods and impactsTargets for fishing pressure and biomass, and additional management when those targets are not being met, based on the best scientific evidenceTimeframes for stock recoveryImproved data collection, transparency, and accountability, supported by technologies such as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM)Consideration of wider environmental impacts of the fishery, including habitat impacts and minimising bycatchStakeholder engagement

Beam trawls have significant impacts on the seabed, including damage to benthic communities and vulnerable marine habitats. They can also have high bycatch, potentially of vulnerable species.In 2023, catch was 1,241 tonnes, most of this (1,239 tonnes) was landed and discards in this fishery are low. Beam trawl accounts for around 68% of landings, with otter trawl accounting for 16.7% and gillnets, 8.7%. The majority (94%) of discards came from beam trawling.Plaice is taken as bycatch in this fishery, and therefore management advice for sole must also take into account the advice for plaice. The minimum mesh size of 80mm in place leads to a large number of plaice being discarded because this mesh size is not matched to the minimum conservation reference size (MCRS) of 27cm for plaice. The approximate size at which 50% of females mature or first spawn is around 30-34cm. Anglerfish, cuttlefish, and lemon sole are also important bycatches in this fishery.Beam trawls have the potential to take relatively high quantities of bycatch (more than 50% of catch weight), including those of conservation concern. In the North East Atlantic there are reported catches of demersal elasmobranchs and endangered, threatened and protected (ETP) species, such as sharks, rays and marine mammals. Bycatch data is limited in many UK and EU fisheries as they are generally not well monitored.Demersal trawls have contact with the seabed resulting in penetration and abrasion of habitat features. The impact of trawling on the seabed depends on the location and scale in which trawling occurs. For example, areas that are used to natural disturbance through tides and waves, are less sensitive to habitat impacts. Areas not used to mobile towed gears are typically more sensitive to trawling. Trawl gears are known to have some of the greatest impacts on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs).Beam trawling, especially using chain-mat gear, is a high impact method of fishing and can have a significant impact on benthic communities. Heavy gear tends to have a higher seabed impact than otter trawling and seabed penetration can vary between 1cm and 8cm, depending on the sediment.An estimated 45% of the Celtic Sea region was trawled in 2018. Fishing effort in the area has been decreasing since the early 2000s. This has reduced the spatial fishing footprint and the average number of times the seabed is trawled per year. Most habitats are mud and sand, which are less vulnerable to trawling. However, in the Celtic Seas, 95% of areas where VMEs such as cold-water corals and sponges occur or are likely were found to have been fished between 2009 and 2011.Mitigation measures include a ban on bottom trawling below 800m, and restrictions from 400-600m – the areas where most VMEs are found. There remains some uncertainty about the location of some sensitive seabed habitats, so these remain at risk.There are Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in this area, some of which are designated to protect seabed features from damaging activities. This fishery overlaps with parts of these MPAs, but the proportion of the catch coming from these areas is expected to be relatively low in relation to the unit of assessment (i.e. less than 20% of the catch or effort), and so these impacts have not been assessed within the scale of this rating. Given the important role that MPAs have in recovering the health and function of our seas, MCS encourages the supply chain to identify if their specific sources are being caught from within MPAs. If sources are suspected of coming from within designated and managed MPAs, MCS advises businesses to establish if the fishing activity is operating legally inside a designated and managed MPA, and request evidence from the fishery or managing authority to demonstrate that the activity is not damaging to protected features or a threat to the conservation objectives of the site(s).To improve monitoring and reporting of fishing activity, MCS would like to see remote electronic monitoring (REM) with cameras implemented, used and enforced. To reduce the impacts of fishing on the marine environment we would like to see a just transition to the complete removal of bottom towed gear from offshore Marine Protected Areas designated to protect the seabed. We also want to see reduction and mitigation of environmental impacts including emissions and blue carbon habitat damage.

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