Survival of discarded Plaice in the English NE Nephrops Trawl Fishery 2015/16 - Fisheries Science Partnership survey

The primary objective of this project was to estimate the survival rate of discarded plaice caught in the NE *Nephrops* trawl fishery. All tows took place in the North Sea at the southern edge of the Farne Deep fishing grounds (ICES Division IVb, ICES rectangles 39E8 or 38E8), in depths of 40-90m. The vessel used a 73m footrope otter trawl, with codend mesh sizes of 80 to 85mm, on muddy sand to target mixed demersal species but the main target catch was *Nephrops*, also known as prawn, scampi or langoustine (*Nephrops norvigicus*). Catches from two or three tows, of three hours in duration, were landed daily representing the normal activity of the fleet working this area. The assessment was conducted during two fishing seasons in March 2015 and November to January 2016.