FishSource

UK European plaice & lemon sole - seine/trawl (FIP)

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Last Updated:

Progress Rating: A

Evaluation Start Date: 2018-11-01

Type: Comprehensive

Status: Active

FIP Lead: MSC (M)

Stock Profile Link
Lemon sole - North Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat, Eastern English Channel
European plaice - North Sea and Skagerrak
European plaice - Eastern English Channel

Comments:

FIP has reported stage 4 results within the last 12 months- FIP remains A rated

1. FIP Development	Dec 16	Fishery assessment or scoping document made public 13 December 2016 — MSC pre-assessment made public
2. FIP Launch	Feb 17	Confirmation of project participants 23 February 2017 — Participants confirmed
2. FIP Launch	Nov 18	Workplan made public 30 November 2018 — Workplan published: North Sea plaice - 29 March 2018 NS lemon sole - 30 Nov 2018
3. FIP Implementation	Sep 22	FIP activities undertaken 7 September 2022 — UK Lemon Sole Steering Committee meeting held; the harvest strategy and HCR were discussed 1 July 2022 — A Joint Fisheries Statement has been drafted which includes a FMP applicable to English waters; the JFS has been published for consultation 30 June 2022 — ICES has issued advice on the recommended TAC for lemon sole in 2023 1 April 2022 — FIP has produced a 5-year annual review report which includes a revised pre-assessment. 1 November 2021 — A wheelhouse guide prototype has been developed out of a steering group sub-committee; the guide will build on the SFSAG skates and rays guide and help skippers identify ETP species 29 June 2021 — November 2021 Steering Group meeting minutes made available; members drafted a harvest strategy 1 June 2021 — A recent stock status review was completed by Project UK 3 February 2021 — Meeting held to discuss Principle I and Principle II. 5 February 2020 — A meeting was held to discuss progress on the stage 1 action plan for plaice and lemon sole 1 December 2019 — A report on catch composition was progressed by Steering Group members. This included a paper on existing initiatives being applied. 1 June 2019 — An ETP strategy has been developed for the SFSAG certified fisheries and has been shared with the steering group 25 March 2019 — A review was undertaken by Cefas on the Habitat assessment of plaice and lemon sole 7 March 2018 — Provisional agreement on a proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing a multi-annual plan for demersal stocks in the North Sea and the fisheries exploiting those stocks and repealing Council Regulation 30 June 2017 — Undertake stock assessment
4. Improvements in Fishing Practices and Fishery Management	Apr 22	Verifiable improvement in policy/management and fishing practices 1 April 2022 — Increase to PI 3.2.2; There is a decision-making process in place with regard to shared stocks like plaice and lemon sole 1 April 2022 — Increase to PI 2.3.2; SFSAG re-assessment conducted. No ETP conditions for the vessels within this UoA have been identified. 1 April 2022 — Increase to PI 3.1.1; The UK has exited the EU with resulting amendments to UK legislation confirming robust management systems in place resulting in >80 score 1 April 2022 — Increase to PI 3.1.2; The Fisheries Act and Joint Fisheries Statement outlines defined management roles and procedures 9 July 2021 — Increase in PI 2.3.3; Adequate information on ETP species continues to be collected. Through collaboration with the UK fishing industry, Clean Catch UK have produced an app designed to gather data on accidental wildlife bycatch 7 July 2021 — Increase in PI 3.2.4; The fishery-specific management systems are subject to an external review 13 July 2020 — Increase in 2.4.3 BMT score; the information presented in the habitat reporting shows that what is available through VMS and logbooks for these vessels, and its comparison against existing habitat information, is sufficient to score >80 1 June 2020 — Assessment of UoA interaction with the latest ETP species list was undertaken by WWF. 25 July 2019 — Increase in MSC PI 1.1.2. score - A review of 1.2.2 conditions for certified plaice fisheries by the SG has identified that this issue is now addressed in the LTMP for plaice. The North Sea Demersal MAP includes plaice and provides well defined HCRs 30 June 2017 — Improvement in MSC PI 2.2.2 - PUKFI review of alternative measures to address unwanted catch 30 June 2017 — Improvement on MSC PI 1.2.4 - publication of the 2017 ICES stock assessment with the current status of the lemon sole stock fluctuating around MSY
5. Improvements on the Water	Jul 21	Verifiable improvement on the water 9 July 2021 — Increase in PI 2.2.1; Nephrops being treated as primary species, combined with the Cefas review of catch composition (2018) there are no ‘main’ secondary species 2 March 2018 — Increase in MSC PI 2.4.1 - available information about the impacts of the fishery on the habitat 30 June 2017 — Increase in MSC PI 1.1.1 - ICES confirmed that the stock is consistent or fluctuating around MSY
6. MSC certification (optional)	—	MSC certificate made public