Dover Sole

NOAA Fisheries and Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) manage the Dover 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 majority of Dover sole landings occur in California, Oregon, and Washington. Based on 2014 catch data, the US West Coast fishery is not overfished nor subject to overfishing. The fishery is considered 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. 

NOAA Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the Dover 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. 

Dover sole are considered abundant in the Gulf of Alaska and are managed as part of the “Deep 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
• Strict reporting and record keeping requirements
• Observer monitoring

The Deep Water Flatfish Complex is managed well and is not overfished nor subject to overfishing according to a 2015 stock assessment. 

Dover sole are managed under the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Groundfish Fishery Plan (FMP) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands as part of the “Other Flatfish” complex. Under the FMP fishers must adhere to measures applying to all groundfish such as: TACs, a limited entry program, and gear modifications. A percentage of the TAC is allocated to a community development quota program to benefit fishery dependent communities in western Alaska. Fishery managers also 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. The complex is not subject to overfishing according to NOAA.

Dover 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, Queen Charlotte Sound, and the west coast of Haida Gwaii and the other off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Among management measures the DFO establishes under the IFMP for Groundfish include:

• A TAC for the fishery (100 percent of which is allocated to the trawl fishery)
• 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