European plaice

In 2019 several Danish and Dutch fisheries on European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) 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 plaice, otter trawls, Scottish and Danish seines, longlines and the controversial beam trawl.

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

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.

European plaice is doing well in the North Sea. The stock of plaice is above the safe biological limits.

Danish seine is considered to be a [selective fishing method] with little bycatchBycatch:
Species caught next to species targeted for fishery. By-catches can consist of non-commercial species and species that are too small, and can be kept (this part is sometimes called by-product) or thrown back into the sea (discards).   of [undersized fish]. Bycatch is generally [landed]. There is incidental bycatch of sharks and rays. These species are vulnerable to overfishingOverfishing:
There is so much fish caught that the size of the stock has diminished so far that it can no longer produce a maximum sustainable yield. The size of the fish populations is insufficient to reproduce in the long term.   and are under pressure in European waters. The extent to which this fishery contributes to this has not been investigated.

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

European plaice is doing well in the North Sea. The stock of plaice is above the safe biological limits.

Twinrig fishery with large mesh sizes is reasonably selective. There is little bycatch of [undersized fish], but many other species of flatfish are caught. If there is a quota for these species, than the bycatch is landed. Twinrigs disturb the bottom life, but a bit less than the beam trawl.

The management of this fishery level is done at EU-level and a [long-term management plan] for sole and plaice has been adopted. This plan is positive for plaice. A group of twinriggers in the northern North Sea has meanwhile been MSC-certifiedMSC Certified:
Fisheries that comply with the Marine Stewardship Council assessment criteria and are certified. Fish products with the blue MSC label are caught by sustainable fisheries.. There are however no structural measures to limit the environmental effects.

European plaice is doing well in the North Sea. The stock of plaice is above the safe biological limits.

A [pulse trawl] is a more selective method than the traditional [beam trawl], but bycatchBycatch:
Species caught next to species targeted for fishery. By-catches can consist of non-commercial species and species that are too small, and can be kept (this part is sometimes called by-product) or thrown back into the sea (discards).   is still high and so are the discards. The survivability of these discards is low.

A pulse trawl also has less impactful effects on the seabed than a beam trawl. The effects of the electric pulses on vulnerable species, like rays, are however not fully known.

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

There are measures needed to limit the bycatch and environmental effects.

European plaice is doing well in the North sea. The stock reached a record level in 2013 and is above the MSY(EN) MSY:
Theoretically the greatest possible 'safe' catch, in which fish populations have sufficient size to reproduce in the long term.     level. Fishermen are therefore again allowed to catch more plaice. There are however measures needed to limit the bycatch and environmental effects.

In this mixed flatfish fishery a small mesh size is used, which causes a lot of bycatchBycatch:
Species caught next to species targeted for fishery. By-catches can consist of non-commercial species and species that are too small, and can be kept (this part is sometimes called by-product) or thrown back into the sea (discards).   of young [undersized fish]. A large part of the bycatch is discarded, but the survivability of these discards is low.

Fishing with a [beam trawl] touches the seabed and disturbs the bottom life. Intensive fishing with the beam trawl leads on the long term to a change in the [species composition] in sea.

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

Plaice stocks in the North Sea and around Iceland are in fair condition; a comprehensive study shows that the stock is well above the maximum sustainable yield (MSY), and that mortality is low enough to maintain this level.

Fishing with Danish and Scottish seines appears to be more sustainable than forms of trawl fishing, but it is not without its shortcomings when it comes to plaice.

Several endangered species have been found in bycatch, primarily the common skate and the Spanish dogfish. Scottish seine nets are estimated to have a 27% mortality rate in discarded bycatch, and much of the catch appears not to be monitored.

The stock is adequately monitored, although there is some criticism of the method used to calculate the reference points. The stock is managed in accordance with the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy, and there is an agreement between the EU, Norway, and the United Kingdom for 2023. However, a long-term management plan is lacking. Regulations intended to reduce the impact on ETP species are not fully effective. A discard ban is in place, but compliance is poor and monitoring is inadequate.

There is insufficient information available on the effects of trawl fishing on threatened species. With regard to fish and demersal cartilaginous fish, the impact at the population level in Iceland is still unknown, but the fishery contributes to an overall threat to these species.