English Sole

NOAA Fisheries and Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) manage the English sole fishery in California, Oregon, and Washington under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Implemented in 1982, the Pacific Coast Groundfish FMP covers over 90 species including rockfish, skates, and other flatfish caught off the US West Coast. The US commercial groundfish fishery is comprised of three components: Limited Entry (LE), Open Access (OA), and Nearshore (NS). The LE and OA sectors are managed by the PFMC while the NS sector is jointly managed by the PFMC and the states of Oregon and California respectfully. The English sole population along the US West Coast is considered healthy and the fishery is well managed due to measures such as:

• A limited entry program – limiting the number of commercial fishing permits available
• Minimum size and total catch limits
• Seasonal and closed areas to protect sensitive habitats
• A vessel monitoring system to ensure vessels are complying with closed areas
• Gear restrictions

Beginning in 2011, LE trawl permit holders were allowed to participate in a catch share program. Participants in the program receive an Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) of the total catch of the 29 commercial species/species complexes along the US West Coast. Fishers participating in the program can fish their quota at anytime during the season and can use non-trawl gear to catch their quota shares. Whereas non-IFQ fisheries have varying levels of at-sea observer coverage, the catch share program requires 100 percent at-sea and dockside monitoring. A subset of the IFQ, the California Groundfish Collective, comprises 11 fishing operations that have entered into an agreement to pool member’s IFQs. 

Based on 2014 catch data, the US West Coast population are not overfished nor subject to overfishing. NOAA Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the English sole fishery in Alaska under the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska and the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. English sole are considered scarce in the Gulf of Alaska, but are managed under the FMP for Groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska as part of the “Shallow Water Flatfish Complex.” Under the FMP for Groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska fishers must adhere to:

• Total allowable catch limits (TAC). TACs are allocated in the Gulf of Alaska by gear type and by processing sector
• A limited entry program – limiting the number of commercial fishing permits available
• Gear modifications
• Closed areas to protect sensitive habitats

A 2015 stock assessment determined that the Shallow Water Flatfish Complex is not overfished nor subject to overfishing.

There is no direct fishery for English sole in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands; however, they are still included and assessed in the FMP for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands as part of the Other Flatfish Complex. While there is no direct fishery for English sole in this area, fishers must adhere to measures under the FMP applying to all groundfish such as: TACs, a limited entry program, and gear modifications. Additionally, fishery managers in Alaska set a limit on the amount of halibut and crab that may be caught incidentally in the groundfish fishery. Once those limits are exceeded, the groundfish fishery will close for the rest of the season.

The Other Flatfish Complex in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands was last assessed in 2015; however, the data was insufficient in determining whether the complex is overfished. According to NOAA, the complex is not subject to overfishing.

English sole are managed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) under the Integrated Fishery Management Plan (IFMP) for Groundfish in Canada. There are two stocks of English sole found in British Columbia waters – one in the Hecate Strait and the other off the west coast of Vancouver Island and in Queen Charlotte Sound. Among management measures the DFO establishes under the IFMP for Groundfish include:

• An Individual Vessel Quota (IVQ) system in which IVQs can be reallocated between vessels and fisheries as necessary
• 100 percent at-sea and dockside monitoring
• Gear restrictions
• Habitat conservation measures such as spatial closures to avoid bycatch of sensitive corals and sponges