Fishing has been a longstanding family tradition in Hastings for over a thousand years. Today fishing remains important to the town's economy and Hastings is home to the largest beach-based fishing fleet in Europe.  

In September 2005, the Hastings fishing fleet pelagic fishery, for mackerel and herring, and the Hastings fishing fleet Dover sole fishery were awarded Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification for well managed fisheries.

Fishing Sector Development Officer of Hastings Borough Council, comments: “The fishermen at Hastings are fishing today in much the same way as they have for hundreds of years, and the MSC certification endorses the sustainable nature of the hard work they do. Hastings Borough Council supports their efforts, and now local businesses are beginning to recognize that their customers are increasingly demanding environmentally sourced products. MSC certification means a great deal to Hastings fishing industry and to the fishermen who provide MSC-certified fish.”

In Hastings, local sourcing, sustainable seafood and small businesses go hand in hand. Fishmonger Rock-a-Nore Fisheries, all-organic Judges Bakery  and two restaurants, Pissarro’s in Hastings and The Place Camber Sands near Rye are among the first small and independent businesses committed to sourcing sustainable seafood from MSC-certified fisheries. This has opened new opportunities for MSC-certified fisheries, and both Hastings based fisheries are reaping the benefits.

For further information, please visit the Hastings Borough Council website.

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:

Sustainability strengths

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

Principle 1: the state of the fish stock

• The target species, its life history, distribution and migrations are well understood to allow the effects of the fishery to be evaluated.
• Fleet description, fishing method and gear types are well known throughout the fishery and the assessment Working Group regularly review the size and modes operandi of these fleets and their impact on the stock.  The effects of fishing can be monitored and regulated effectively.

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

• Fishery-related impacts on the benthic habitat are considered minor and affected habitats and species are able to recover rapidly in this dynamic inshore environment.

Principle 3: the fishery management systems 

• The management system is consistent with the cultural context, scale and intensity of the fishery. The Hastings trammel net sole fishery is small scale with annual catches in the region of less than 100 tonnes. Their allocated quota is administered through the local Hastings Fishermen’s Protection Society in a manner entirely 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 fishery is also consistent with all International Agreements and Conventions.

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: 

• Misreporting in the offshore fishery and under-reporting in the inshore fisheries has been identified as a significant potential source of uncertainty in the stock assessment and in forecasts for this stock. The data requirements of the relevant scientific agency (CEFAS) should be determined and these requirements should be met from within the fishery.
• Interactions of the fishery with endangered, threatened or protected species appear limited but are not formally quantified. Such interactions may be with groups such as seabirds, sea mammals and shad. Records of incidental catches (of sea birds, sea mammals etc) should be maintained and made available through an appropriate body such as the Sea Fisheries Committee.

The fishery: Unit of certification

The certified Hastings fleet Dover sole fishery is defined as:

Surveillance audits: Certification period 2005-2010

Surveillance 4: Completed June 2011

Variation response: Certificate extension - 27 October 2011

Variation request: Certificate extension - 27 October 2011

Surveillance audit No. 4 - 21st June 2011

Stakeholder Notification: Surveillance announcement - 19th April 2011

Stakeholder Notification: Surveillance announcement - 23 December 2010

Stakeholder announcement: Variation: Extension of existing certificate - 14th December 2010

Initial assessment: Certified October 2005

Certificates: Compliance with the MSC Principles and Criteria for Sustainable fishing

Stakeholder Notification: Peer reviewers proposed - 11 November 2011

• Curriculum Vitae: Richard Millner

• Curriculum Vitae: Michael Pawson

Stage 3: Information Gathering, meetings stakeholders and Scoring

Revised timeline - 27th October 2011

Stakeholder Notification: Site visit scheduled - 28th June 2011

Stage 2: Building the Assessment Tree

Stakeholder Notification: Default Assessment Tree with the Risk Based Framework (RBF) - 13th May 2011

Stage 1: Fishery Announcement and Assessment Team Formation

Stakeholder Notification: Assessment team confirmation - 13th May 2011

Stakeholder Notification: Assessment team nominated - 19th April 2011

• Curriculum Vitae: Jim Andrews

• Curriculum Vitae: Andrew Hough

• Curriculum Vitae: John Nichols

Stakeholder Notification: Fishery enters full reassessment - 19th April 2011

Hastings Fishery Management Group

The Fishmarket
Rock-a-Nore Road
Hastings
East Sussex TN34 3DW  
UK
Tel.+44 (0)1424 722322

Contact: Mr. Paul Joy
hfps@btconnect.com

Certification Body

Intertek Moody Marine 

Merlin House, Stanier Way
The Wyvern Business Park
Derby, DE21 6BF
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1332 544663
Fax: +44 (0)1332 675020

Contact: Jason Combes
Email: j.combes@moodyint.com

Contact: Andrew Hough
a.hough@moodyint.com

www.moodyint.com

Certified as sustainable in September 2005.

Summary

Species: Dover Sole (Solea solea)
Location: Within the Eastern English Channel, specifically between Beachy Head and Dungeness and offshore to the 6 mile limit
Fishing methods: Trammel net
Vessels: Fishery is undertaken by boats under 10 metres launched from the beach at Hastings - 'Stade-launched boats'
Number of fisheries: 1

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Download Fishers' stories - Net Benefits 2009 - Dover sole (PDF, 200kb)

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 nets are 1.2-1.5 metres deep and 45-55 metres long. They consist of three walls of nets in which a monofilament or multi-mono filament fine-mesh net is sandwiched in between two outer walls of large-meshed netting. Fish pass through the outer mesh and become tangled in the inner mesh.

Fishery tonnage

72 tonnes