Common Sole

In 2019 several Danish and Dutch fisheries on common sole (solea solea) were MSC certified within the ‘Joint Demersal Fishery‘. These fisheries fish in Skagerrak, Kattegat and the North Sea. They use miscellaneous gear to fish for sole, otter trawls, Scottish and Danish seines, longlines and the controversial beam trawl.

Please note: Good Fish does not recommend the MSC beam trawl sole

Fisheries that target sole and plaice use several types of bottom trawls, with varying impact on the seafloor and different ranges of CO2 emissions. The least sustainable gear is the beam trawl. Good Fish is critical towards the certification of the beam trawl. The recommendation for sole and plaice, caught with the beam trawl, has a RED rating on our seafood guide. We advice supermarkets and consumers to avoid this fish.

The common sole stock in the North Sea has grown in the past years and is since 2011 within biological safe limits again. The fishing pressure is almost at the level that is determined in the long-term management plan for sole.

Set gillnet fishery is quite selective with little bycatch of undersized fish or other species. Sometimes dab, flounder or plaice are bycatch. These bycatches are generally landed. There is incidental bycatch of porpoises and sea birds. The porpoise population is under pressure. Aggregate bycatches in (set gillnet) fisheries contribute to this.

This fishery has no significant bottom impact.

The management of this fishery is done at EU-level and a long-term management plan for sole has been accepted. This plan is positive for sole.

The common sole stock in the North Sea has grown in the past years and is since 2011 within biological safe limits again. The fishing pressure is almost at the level that is determined in the long-term management plan for sole.

A pulse trawl is a more selective method to catch flatfish than the traditional beam trawl, but there is still a lot of bycatch and a lot of discards. The survivability of these discards are low. A pulse trawl has a less heavy impact on the seabad than a beam trawl. The effects of the electric pulses on vulnerable species, like rays, are not fully known.

The management of this fishery is done at EU-level and a long-term management plan for sole has been accepted. This plan is positive for sole. However, measures are needed to limit the bycatch and environmental impacts.

The common sole stock in the North Sea has grown in the past years and is since 2011 within biological safe limits again. The fishing pressure is almost at the level that is determined in the long-term management plan for sole.

The minimum mesh size of 80mm in the beam trawl fishery on sole in the southern North Sea leads to considerable bycatch of undersized young fish, mainly young plaice. Undersized fish needs to be discarded back in the sea. Beam trawl fisheries discard about half of the total catch. The main part of these discards doesn’t survive. Fishing with bottom trawls touch the seabed and there is a direct disruption of the bottom life. Intensive fishing with a beam trawl leads on the long-term to a change in species composition in sea.

The management of this fishery is done at EU-level and a long-term management plan for sole has been accepted. This plan is positive for sole. However, measures are needed to limit the bycatch and environmental impacts.