Improvement of the biological advice for Common Sole in Danish waters

This projected was originally applied for in 2016 under the program Fiskeri, natur og miljø EHFF. The project was granted from 01-04-2016 to 05-08-2018, and extended to 31-12-2018 (in an application from 14-12-2017). The scope of the project was to improve the biological advice on soles in Skagerrak, Kattegat, the Belts and Western Baltic.

Sole is a small but very valuable fish important to fisheries. Therefore, the stock assessment on sole is important for the commercial fisheries. In the autumn of 2015, a benchmark for the sole stock in the Danish waters was carried out improving the precision of biomass estimates and estimates of fisheries pressure.

Based on this revised assessment, it also became clear that knowledge on spawning areas and areas for juvenile sole is sparse and may introduce a potential error in the assessment. Furthermore, regional differences in growth rates and mortality are not well-known. In order to minimize these potential errors, this project was set up to include analyses of extended surveys, new initiatives to collaborate directly with the fishermen as well as include results of using new fishing gear technology.

The intention was to improve not only stock assessment but also improve the basis for the fisheries management. The report presented in this document is a direct outcome of the project documenting the achieved goals. The results are to be included in the on-going ICES working group on sole (WGBFAS) and be used in the forthcoming benchmark process.