European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) is a key species for Danish commercial and recreational fishing. A discard ban in the reformed European Union’s Common Fisheries Policy includes the possibility of exempting from the landing obligation “species for which scientific evidence demonstrates high survival rates”. Although smaller coastal fishing vessels make up a substantial part of the commercial Danish fishing fleet, discard survival in plaice from these vessels is not well studied. To address this issue, a study on discard survival in plaice from trammel net and Danish Seine was established as a cooperation between Aalborg University, Copenhagen University and Foreningen for Skånsomt Kystfiskeri. Methodology was developed to collect, assess and observe discard survival in plaice from trammel net and Danish Seine. Experiments were conducted in 2017 and 2018 from three commercial coastal fishing vessels. Livewells were designed to house captured individuals for up to 11 days for observation of short-term survival rate. Catch-damage-index (CDI) and Reflex Action Mortality Predictor (RAMP) were used to assess fish condition immediately after capture and at the end of the observation periods. Results showed 100% survival rate in plaice from trammel net and 87% survival rate in plaice from Danish Seine. For the majority of fish assessed after capture, reflex impairments were absent and injuries were primarily minor bruises, fin fraying, and net marks. Assessments of injuries and reflex impairments after observation showed the condition of the fish generally did not worsen during the observation periods. The project is financed by the European Fisheries Fund and the Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark
