Plaice

There is concern for biomass and fishing pressure of plaice in the Celtic Sea and Bristol Channel.Route 2 (data limited) scoring has been applied to this rating owing to the lack of reference points available for biomass and fishing pressure. Plaice is considered to have medium resilience to fishing pressure.The biomass index shows a decline since a peak in 2015. The most recent biomass biomass index value (Index A, 2022-2023) is 36kg/100km, a decline from the previous biomass index value (Index B, 2019-2021), which was 64kg/100m. The index is now below Itrigger.Fishing pressure proxy from the length-based indicator (LBI) method is used for the evaluation of the exploitation status. The proxy fishing pressure is above the corresponding FMSY proxy when the indicator is higher than 1. In 2023, the fishing pressure proxy was 1.08. Therefore, there is concern for fishing pressure. ICES advises that when the MSY approach is applied, catches should be no more than 114 tonnes in each of the years 2025 and 2026. This is a decrease of 72% compared to the previous years advice, due to the continued declining trend in recent stock biomass. Fishing pressure proxy being above FMSY proxy has also contributed to the decline in advice.

There is no management plan for this stock, but some measures are in place which are only partly effective. Discarding is high.This stock is managed by total allowable catch (TAC). Discards are very high - in 2023 the estimated landings were 283 tonnes, and estimated discards were 235 tonnes. In 2019, for the first time, landings exceeded discards, and they have each year since. Since 2014 TAC and catches (including discards) have been in line with advice. In 2019, the TAC was increased to apply to both landings and discards.It is difficult to predict fishing fleet behaviour, as plaice is a commercial species of a low value taken mostly as a bycatch to the sole fishery and to a lesser extent, to Nephrops.Technical measures in place for this fishery are:Minimum mesh sizes and minimum conservation reference size (MCRS) of 27cmNational regulations restrict areas for certain types of vessels.A number of areas are closed to fishing at certain times of the year, e.g. the Trevose box, an area of sea around 11,400 square miles extending from Trevose head in Cornwall to the Gower peninsular in South Wales from January - March. This is the spawning period for a number of demersal stocks, so while it is primarily intended to reduce catches of spawning cod, other stocks are likely to benefit. However, beam trawlers have been allowed to fish there since 2005.The Celtic Sea Protection Zone (CSPZ) also has restrictions on fishing gearFor vessels fishing with demersal trawls and seines operating in the inner CSPZ within UK waters, the baseline mesh size is 110mm codend with a 120mm square mesh panel (there are derogations in place).For more information about this fishery in Cornwall, see: https://www.cornwallgoodseafoodguide.org.uk/fish-guide/plaice.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.Catch in 2023 was 518 tonnes. Of this, 283 tonnes was wanted catch, with otter trawl accounting for 26% and beam trawl accounting for 65%. Most of the catch is by Belgium, and a smaller amount by France, UK and Ireland.Plaice is primarily a bycatch of the sole fishery, with discards of plaice owing to a mismatch in the selectivity properties of the gear (80mm) and the plaice minimum landing size (27cm, although the approximate size at which 50% of females mature or first spawn is 30-34cm). In addition, the relatively low market value of plaice may contribute to the high and variable discard rates. It is estimated that the survival rate of discarded plaice is around 40%. Changes in effort in the sole fishery will impact fishing mortality on plaice.ICES has recommended the introduction of technical measures to reduce the high overall levels of discards in the mixed-species beam trawl fishery in the Celtic Sea, including lemon sole, cuttlefish, benthic, and non-commercial species, but especially plaice. Specifically, this could include use of larger meshes, and seasonal closures. Cefas and the fishing industry have developed a number of measures to reduce bycatch and discards through improved design of nets and through benthic release panels, potentially reducing unwanted catches by around 50%. However, uptake of these measurers is not known.A number of areas are closed to fishing at certain times of the year, e.g. the Trevose box, an area of sea around 11,400 square miles extending from Trevose head in Cornwall to the Gower peninsular in South Wales from January - March. This is the spawning period for a number of demersal stocks, so while it is primarily intended to reduce catches of spawning cod, other stocks are likely to benefit.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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