Brill

There is too little known about this species to do reliable [stock estimates], but the amount of brills in the North Sea seems to be increasing. Because brill is mainly bycatch in the [beam trawl] fishery on plaice and sole, the supply of brill is controlled by the activity of this fleet. Although the [fishing effort] of the beam trawl fleet has more than halved, the landings of brill have kept stable since 1998. This suggests that the stock is increasing. Due to the high market value and the lack of a minimum [landing size], brill is almost never discarded.

In the beam trawl fishery there is an average discard of half of the catch, often dead. This is because the catch regulations are tuned for the target species of sole. For sole there is a smaller minimum [mesh size], which contributes to a large bycatch of undersized plaice and other species. This fishing method also impacts the seabed and bottom life. Intensive fishing with beam trawls leads on the long term to a change in [species composition] in the sea.

There is no European management plan for brill formulated. There is a joint [catch limit] for brill and turbot. This management tool is however not suitable to regulate [fishing pressure] on bycatch species, because it can lead to the discard of marketable fish.