Plaice banking and Borrowing (BO-20-010-031)

This project used management strategy evaluation (MSE) to evaluate the likely effects of inter-annual quota flexibility on the effectiveness of the North Sea flatfish management plan. IMARES and subsequently ICES have evaluated the ±10% inter-annual quota flexibility scheme for plaice in the context of the plaice and sole management plan.

Different scenarios showed that adding the inter-annual quota flexibility did not substantially increase the probability of SSB falling below Blim, compared to scenarios without inter-annual quota flexibility. Average yield did not change substantially either. It was therefore concluded that the multiannual management plan is robust to inclusion of inter-annual quota flexibility in terms of the probability of the stock biomass falling below Blim, and without substantial changes in average yield. This conclusion is conditional on the inter-annual quota flexibility being suspended when the stock is estimated to be outside safe biological limits.