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Senegalese sole

Quality mark Cultivation
/Keurmerk Wild
Green
Second choice
Avoid
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General

Flatfish

Flatfish belong to the order Pleuronectoformes. There are more than 500 species of flatfish. Flatfish live on and partly in the seabed, only the halibut swims higher up in the water column. Flatfish have an oblong, flat shape and their eyes on one side. The upper-side, the eye-side, of the flatfish has a camouflage colour and the underside is white. It may seem like flatfish swim on their belly, however, in fact, they are laying on their side. Flatfish larvae have a regular fish shape, with eyes on each side and a vertical swimming mode. After 6 weeks, one of the eyes migrates upwards, over the head to the other side. From now own, the flatfish swims with their eyes up and their blind side facing the seabed.

The best known flatfish species in the Netherlands are sole and plaice. Other flatfish species that occur in the North Sea are the common dab, halibut, turbot, brill, European flounder and lemon sole. Flatfish are caught with beam trawls, pulse trawls or demersal otter trawls.

 

Senegalese sole

The Senegalese sole is a marine flatfish that inhabits sandy and muddy bottoms in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from the Bay of Biscay till Senegal. It can reach up to 60 cm. Solea senegalensis is very similar to the common sole. It has a flattened, oval body with the dorsal fin starting on the upper profile of the head to the front of the upper eye. It is greyish brown in colour on the eyed side marked with numerous blue spots, the spots tend to disappear in dead specimens. The pectoral fin on the eyed side has a nearly black membrane contrasting with cream coloured fin rays while the caudal fin is plain. The blind side it whitish. Its diet consists of shellfish, shrimp, crabs and fish.

Senegalese sole

Cynoglossus senegalensis
Origin

Atlantic Ocean, central east (FAO 34)

Farming- / Catch method

Gillnets

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Fish stocks and fishing pressure
Ecosystem effects
Fishery management
Final assessment
Explanation assessment

The tongue sole fishery in The Gambia is a small-scale fishery, in which tongue sole is caught with canoes. They use [gill nets] which do not damage the seabed. 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 endangered species or [discarding] hardly takes place.

Several measures are taken to regulate the fishery. The coastal zone is reserved for small-scale fishery. Large-scale fishery, like [beam trawl fishery], is prohibited in this area. The data collection of the tongue sole fishery is getting better, but there is still no good system for a reliable [stock assessment].

Catch compositions from the region show that this is not yet overfishedOverfished:
A stock is overfished when the stock size has decreased 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. 
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Senegalese sole

Cynoglossus senegalensis
Origin

Atlantic Ocean, central east (FAO 34)

Farming- / Catch method

Bottom otter trawl

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Fish stocks and fishing pressure
Ecosystem effects
Fishery management
Final assessment
Explanation assessment

There are no stock estimates for Senegalese tongue sole along the coast of West Africa. This species is probably overfished. [Bottom otter trawls] are used, which damage the seabed and have 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 which a large part is discarded.

The management of this fishery is regulated well in only a few countries. There is too little information on the stock available to create the possibility for good management. A general problem of fishery in this area is the competition of small-scale fishery by local people and the industrial fishery by foreign ships from Europe, China and other countries.

 

ASC label

Fish with the ASC label is farmed in a sustainable manner.

MSC label

Fish with the MSC label is caught sustainably.

Good fish

This fish is not being overfished or is being responsibly farmed, with minimal impact on the environment.

Second choice

This fish is a second choice. There are still some improvements to be made in this fishery or fish farm.

Avoid

Do not buy this fish. It's being overfished or the way it's farmed or caught has a negative impact on the environment.

Welfare

There is fish available of this species that is farmed or caught using high welfare standards.

GlobalG.A.P.

GlobalG.A.P. certified farms are doing a step in the right direction in terms of sustainability. A few species with this label are getting a better score on the VISwijzer.

Organic

Organic standards are the strictest when it comes to fish feed. They also require certain measures for animal well-being.