UK European plaice & lemon sole - seine/trawl

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Overview

Project UK is working towards an environmentally sustainable future for UK fisheries by running Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) on 12 UK fisheries that have been selected by the UK seafood supply chain. They were selected due to their importance for the UK market.

Project UK has been developed in response to the demand from the supply chain, retailers, industry and NGOs. The project will commission an MSC pre-assessment to inform and develop an action plan for each fishery, which will identify improvements.

Plaice and Lemon sole are demersal flatfish species generally living on sandy substrates but may also be found on mud and gravel and stony bottoms. They are shallow water species found from the near coast as juveniles down to around 200m in northern waters. Plaice are widely distributed on the continental shelf from the Bay of Biscay in the south through the English Channel, North Sea and Irish Sea to the Baltic, Iceland, the Norwegian coast and Barents Sea in the north.

TACs are set for the North Sea Plaice fishery.  Around 93% of this TAC was allocated to the EU. The UK share (initial allocation) accounts for around 26% of the total TAC.

TACs are set for the North Sea Lemon Sole fishery. In 2015 the TAC was 6,391 tonnes. 100% of this TAC was allocated to the EU. The UK share (initial allocation) accounts for around 61% of the total TAC.

The 3 Units of Assessment (Demersal Trawl, Beam Trawl and Seine) operate in different locations of the North Sea

FIP Description 

Project UK is working towards an environmentally sustainable future for UK fisheries by running Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) on 12 UK fisheries that have been selected by the UK seafood supply chain.

FIP Objective(s) 

By April 2023, the FIP aims to address the following:

  • Meet the 80+ score for each MSC performance indicator within 5 years (April 2017- 2022) and be able to enter MSC full assessment. 
  • Support fisheries with the tools to implement changes and ensure their sustainable future as they move towards MSC certification
  • Follow the step by step definition of a credible FIP involving four key stages, each with associated tools & support mechanisms:
  1. Undertake MSC pre-assessment
  2. Develop an action plan for improvement
  3. Implement actions & track progress
  4. Enter full MSC assessment
  • Address and aim to improve all principle indicators scoring below 80 across the MSC as determined in the pre-assessments 
  • Use the model to establish a 'FIP conveyor belt' to identify, improve and certify UK fisheries
  • Track progress consistently and transparently, producing review reports on an annual basis using a consultant body
FIP Type 
Comprehensive
FIP Stage 
Stage 5: Improvements on the Water
Start and Projected End Dates
April 2017
April 2023
Update 
The FIP has been severely impacted by Brexit and Covid-19, which has affected the legislative regime the fishery operates in and the ability for Steering Group members to attend Steering group meetings and deliver on actions set out in the FIP's action plan.
Next Progress Report Due 
Friday, June 30, 2023
Species 
Common Name 
European Plaice
Scientific Name
Pleuronectes platessus
Common Name 
Lemon Sole
Scientific Name
Microstomus kitt
Gear Type 
Bottom Trawl
Otter Trawl
Seine
Location
FAO Major Fishing Area
Area 27 (Atlantic, Northeast)
Exclusive Economic Zones
Country 
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
Geographic Scope 
ICES area 3a, 4 and 7d
Landings
Estimated Total FIP Landings 
1,827 metric tons
Estimated Total Fishery Landings 
52,700 metric tons
Landings Date 
December 2019
PrintPDF

FIP at a Glance

21% 79%
April 01, 2017
11% 46% 39% 4%
Progress Rating (A) Advanced Progress

Reserved for comprehensive FIPs that have achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within the past 12 months.

(B) Good Progress

A basic FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result within 12 months.

(C) Some Recent Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months that has never achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result but has reported a Stage 3 activity within the first 12 months.
(D) Some Past Progress
  • A FIP that has achieved a Stage 4 or 5 result in more than 12 (but less than 24) months BUT has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old AND a Stage 3 activity has been reported within six months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.
(E) Negligible Progress
  • A FIP for which the most recent Stage 4 or 5 result is more than 24 (but less than 36) months old, with no Stage 3 activity reported in the last six months.
  • A FIP younger than 12 months with no Stage 3 activity reported within 12 months.
  • A FIP 12-36 months old that has never reported a Stage 4 or 5 result AND has not reported a Stage 3 activity within the past six months.

The ratings are currently derived by SFP from publicly available data on FIP websites, including FisheryProgress.org, and are determined using the following methodology: View PDF
A Advanced Progress
Actions Complete

This pie chart represents completed environmental actions. Non-completed environmental actions may contain completed sub-tasks that are not illustrated here. For more information on environmental action progress visit the Actions Progress tab.
  • Complete
  • Incomplete
Next Update Due FisheryProgress requires a FIP to provide update reports every six months, and two missed reports will render the FIP inactive. If a report is overdue, this date will appear red.
Jun 2023
Target End Date
Apr 2023

FIP Leads

Organization Name 
Facilitated by the Marine Stewarship Council
Organization Type 
Other
Primary Contact 
Jo Pollett
Email 
jo.pollett@msc.org
Website Name 
Project UK
FIP Identification Number The FIP Identification Number is automatically generated by FisheryProgress when a FIP profile is created. While the number itself is not meaningful, they are used by NGOs, academia, and industry to refer to FIPs in a consistent way.
7730