Hastings fleet Dover sole trawl and gill-net

Kyllej — 2008-03-11T09:05:00Z

MSC status

Certified as sustainable on 9th July 2009

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Summary

Species: Dover sole (Solea solea L.)
Location: Eastern English Channel (ICES Division VIId) specifically between Beachy Head and Dungeness and offshore to the six mile limit.
Fishing methods: Demersal trawl and Gill-net (assessed seperately).
Vessels: Currently 29 (2008) with a maximum number of 43 vessels.
Number of fisheries: 1

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More about Dover sole

Dover sole has a preference for relatively shallow water with sand or mud covering the bottom. As temperatures fall in the autumn and winter they migrate out into deeper, warmer water. They have small eyes close to each other on the right-hand side of the body. This enables the fish to lurk half-buried in the sand and watch for passing prey.

More about the fishing methods

The Hastings-based fleet is very versatile and uses a number of different gears and targets different species at different times of the year. The gears covered by this certification are the trawl and the gill net. The minimum mesh size permitted for the sole trawl net fishery is 80mm and for the Gill nets 90mm.

The trawl net used by the Hastings vessels is light and designed for use on soft ground. The ground rope is made up either of light chain wrapped in sacking or a series of four inch diameter rubber bobbins with light chain between them. Impact with the sea bed is light and reported catches of benthic species are low. These consist mainly of starfish which are returned to the sea alive. There are just a few floats on the headline producing a low headline height of about 1.5m to reduce the potential for taking unwanted by-catch species such as cod and whiting. On some vessels the trawls may be double or triple rigged to increase the area of sea bed swept during a tow. Although the minimum mesh size is 80mm the Hastings fleet tend to use mesh of 85/87mm in order to reduce the potential for catching undersized sole.

The gill net consists of just a single layer of net with a minimum mesh size of 90mm although a mesh size of 100mm is normally preferred by the Hastings fleet. The top of the net is set lower in the water compared to the Trammel net in order to reduce the by-catch of unwanted species in particular cod.

Fishery tonnage

137 tonnes

Commercial market

Currently much of the fish (Solea solea) is exported to France but the intent is to further develop local UK markets.

Meet the fishers

Jessica Wenban-Smith — 2008-05-28T15:25:00Z

Meet the Hastings Dover sole trawl and gill-net fishers

More information coming soon.

Sustainability notes

Kyllej — 2008-03-03T12:10:00Z

This is an overview of how the Hastings Dover sole trawl and gill-net fishery scored in assessment against the MSC standard. For the certifiers evaluation please download the full public certification report with detailed information on the performance of this fishery against the criteria of the MSC environmental standard for sustainable fishing.

The fishery scored as follows in assessment against the MSC standard for sustainable fishing. The highest possible score for each principle is 100 and a fishery must score at least 80 against each principle to get certified:

MSC Principle	Fishery Performance
Principle 1: Sustainability of Exploited Stock	Overall: 90, Pass
Principle 2: Maintenance of Ecosystem	Overall: 83, Pass
Principle 3: Effective Management System	Overall: 87, Pass

Sustainability strengths

Some points on which the fishery scored over 90 are outlined below.

Principle 1: the state of the fish stock

The species is readily identified by fishers and by regulators and is recorded appropriately. Sole (Solea solea) are easily identified as adults and juveniles.
Main fishing methods and gear types employed in the fishery are known and well-documented. Recorded information is available on the size and composition of the fleet in the most recent ICES assessment working group report, and regular reviews are conducted. Seasonal and geographic variations are known.
The stock is considered to be within safe biological limits according to ICES criteria. The stock has a high probability of being above its limit reference point and the stock is at or fluctuating around its precautionary/target reference point.

Principle 2: the impact of the fishery on the marine environment

There is good knowledge of the few protected, endangered or threatened species that occur within the certification area. Partnerships between NGOs and statutory bodies work to monitor populations, detect changes and manage adverse impacts.
Gear loss is unusual in this fishery, for both gear types. Trawling and netting operations are spatially separated in the area, minimizing risk of conflicts between fishery types that could result in gear loss.
The Sussex Sea Fisheries Committee ensures a process where unacceptable fishing practices can be detected, monitored and where necessary management measures can be put in place to prevent them. This Committee has the powers to enforce byelaws where necessary to prevent unsustainable fishing and to monitor their effectiveness.
Information is available on the trophic position, status and relationships of the target species within the food web. The prey of adult and juvenile sole has been well-described, and the food web of key species in the North Sea (ECIES Area IV) has been described through a multi-species Virtual Population Analysis.

Principle 3: the fishery management systems

The Hastings trawl and gill net sole fishery is small scale with annual catches generally less than 100 tonnes. Their allocated quota is administered through the local Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society in a manner appropriate to the size and cultural context of the fishery. The Hastings fishery is regulated by a well-established framework consistent with traditional regional practices.
The system has no subsidies that contribute to unsustainable fishing or ecosystem degradation.
Fishery operatives assist significantly in the collection and recording of all appropriate catch, discard and other information. Fishermen are very cooperative and willing to take observers from defra and scientists from CEFAS at any time, with some vessels voluntarily completing and submitting catch log books for UK scientists to use.

Challenges

In order to ensure its continuing sustainable operation this fishery made a commitment to improving its performance where it scored between 60-80. Some of the actions the fishery has committed to are:

Accurate reporting of all catches (including bycatch), discards and landings take place to the relevant scientific agency (i.e. CEFAS), so as to allow their significance to be determined.
The client will liaise with the relevant scientific agency to agree how the above issue should be addressed.
Measures should be introduced to provide an appropriate level of precautionary management – such as, for instance, the introduction of voluntary or statutory measures to protect important benthic habitats in the area.
Records of incidental catches (e.g. of seabirds, sea mammals, shad and other endangered, threatened or protected (ETP) species) should be maintained and made available to appropriate scientific and management bodies. The conservation significance of catches of ETP species within the certified fishery should be established, and if necessary, any required modifications to fishing practices should be implemented as soon as practically possible at the most within the present certification.
Measures should be introduced to provide an appropriate level of precautionary management to ensure that ecosystem interactions are constrained by formalized precautionary procedures.

Unit of certification

Kyllej — 2008-03-03T12:10:00Z

The unit of certification is the unit that is assessed by certifiers against the MSC environmental standard. It is defined as the fishery or fish stock (a biologically distinct unit) combined with the fishing method/gear and practice (the vessel/s) pursuing that stock. This is set at the beginning of the assessment.

The fishery: Unit of certification

The certified Hastings Dover sole trawl and gill-net fishery is defined as:

Species	Dover sole (Solea solea L.)
Geographical range of fishing operations	Eastern English Channel (ICES DIvisions VIId) specifically between Beachy Head and Dungeness and offshore to the six mile limit.
Method of capture	Demersal trawl and Gill-net.
Stock	Eastern Channel stock within ICES Management Area VIId.
Management	Several domestic (UK) statutory bodies work together to manage the Hastings fishery. These are the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), the fisheries Directorate of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Environment Agency (EA), the Marine Fisheries Agency (MFA), Natural England and Sussex Sea Fisheries Committee (SFC).
Client group	Hastings Fisheries Management Group