South West Mixed Fishery

Summary

This mixed fishery operating in the southwest of England targets multiple species, that are often caught in the same gear or in similar areas.

A pre-assessment for the fishery was first conducted against MSC Fisheries Standard 2.01 in 2022. This pre-assessment was updated in 2025 in accordance with a new version (3.1) of the MSC Fisheries Standard. The recently estabilished South West Seafood Sustainabily Hub are committed to delivering sustainable fisheries in the South West of England, and are in the process of updating an action plan to reflect the gaps identified in the latest pre-assessment.

Project UK has been instrumental in the past in supporting stakeholder collaboration. It is therefore well placed to support FIP alignment with UK Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) for the species covered in the proposed mixed fishery.

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This was applied to the following species and areas:

  • Dover sole (Solea solea) in SW UK and Ireland waters

  • Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) in SW UK waters

  • Lemon sole (Microstomus kitt) in SW England

  • Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) in the English Channel

  • Brill (Scopthalamus rhombas) in English Channel

  • Megrim (Lepidorhomas whiffiagonis) in SW England

  • Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) in the English Channel

  • Squid (Loligo spp.) in SW England

  • Angler (Lophius piscatorius) and Blackbellied angler (Lophius budegassa) in the English Channel *

  • Angler (Lophius piscatorius) in SW England *

*incorporated from Project UK Round 1.

This work was partially supported by The Fishmongers' Company and funded by a FaSS grant in 2024, and will be incorporated into the workplan for the ‘South West Seafood Sustainability Hub’, which is due to formally launch in late 2025. More details can be found on it’s page here.

Please contact projectuk@msc.org with any enquiries.