Petrale Sole

Petrale sole, which are actually more closely related to flounder, are found from southern California to Alaska. Although the population was considered overfished along the U.S. West Coast, a 2013 stock assessment concluded that the fish is rebuilding and no longer experiencing overfishing, according to FishWatch. In the Gulf of Alaska, the last assessment showed petrale sole is not overfished or subject to overfishing. In British Columbia, the population has been increasing from low levels of the 1990s and a 2014 Seafood Watch report indicated the stock is healthy.

Petrale sole are caught using bottom trawls that are usually destructive to the seafloor, but the sole typically dwell in sandy and muddy bottom habitats that require little recolonization to recover, compared with rocky or reef habitats. In British Columbia, Seafood Watch credited spatial management measures as helping to minimize potential habitat damage, particularly on corals and sponges.

Bycatch in the groundfish fishery that covers Petrale sole is higher in northern shallower offshore shelf waters, according to FishWatch. However, given the multispecies nature of the integrated groundfish fisheries, Seafood Watch noted that there are few species that can be called bycatch in the traditional sense. 

In the U.S., petrale sole is managed by NOAA Fisheries, the Pacific Fishery Management Council, and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Fisheries and Oceans Canada manages the species in British Columbia. Measures in the U.S. West Coast include a limited number of permits, a trawl rationalization catch share program that started in 2011, gear restrictions, and area closures. In Alaska, petrale sole fall under the groundfish fishery management plan. Seafood Watch reports from 2014 called petrale sole management in the U.S. and Canada strong overall.