Plaice

A long-lived species and subject to high fishing pressure.
TIP: Try line caught plaice, over 30cm in size.

Problems

Many stocks of plaice in the North Sea and around Europe are under pressure.
Stocks in the Celtic Sea, Western Channel, around South West and Western Ireland are in decline.
Large mature plaice are very rare and undersized plaice in large numbers are discarded. Around 50-80% of plaice are caught and dumped overboard because they are too small.
Since the mid 1980s, the spawning biomass stock has decreased to a very low level.
The fishing method used to catch plaice is bottom trawling, which is very destructive to the environment.

Solutions

A protected area of 38,000 sqKm has been designated as the ‘plaice box’ in the North Sea. Fishing is prohibited in this area, so juveniles can mature to breed properly.
A substantial decrease in fishing effort is required for sustainability.

Photo courtesy of Igor Clark