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.