Fishing Plotter Files

Fishing Plotter Files

On behalf of FLTCS for the the offshore oil and gas companies operating within the UK continental shelf area, Kingfisher Information Services provide fishermen with free fishing plotter files containing positions of all surface and subsea structures.

These plotter files are produced from the best available data sourced directly from the offshore operators. The plotter files contain information for all structures. Fishing plotter files are available for the following systems - please click on your system below to download file.

Please note: If fishermen have any queries, or become aware of possible errors in the FishSAFE data, please complete the feedback form, alternatively, contact Kingfisher using the details on the contact us page.

Litton Maxsea Penta SIS MicroPlot Sodena WIN Transas TMPlannerQuod Olex TRAX
	Oil & gas fishing plotter file data

For help loading the above files onto your fishing plotter, please see the installation help page or click here.

To receive regular FREE updates of oil & gas fishing plotter files, please register your details on the homepage of this website.

January 2017 quota allocations for certain fish species.

Trends in Scottish Fish Stocks 2016

A paper on the state of gadoid (cod family) fish stocks by the University of the Highlands and islands has just been published. The paper highlights some of the significant (for the good) changes in fish stocks in recent years.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: “We are delighted this report confirms the general trend of increasing fish stocks in Scottish waters. Much of this recovery can be attributed to the innovation of our fishermen in developing more selective types of fishing gear and pioneering other initiatives such as real time area closures.

“With Brexit looming, our fishermen can look to the future with real confidence. Regaining control of our own 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) will provide a sea of opportunity for the implementation of fit-for-purpose sustainable fisheries management that benefits both our fishing communities and the marine environment.

“This steady and hard-won recovery must be nurtured and continued. The report underlines the clear importance of gaining full control of our EEZ, which must be a red-line issue during the forthcoming negotiations. Access to our waters should only be considered and discussed once we have achieved this control.”


Two parameters are commonly used to reflect the state of a fish stock and the level of exploitation to which it is subject:

• The Spawning Stock Biomass (SSB) is the estimated biomass (weight) of sexually mature fish in a stock, and is commonly used as a measure of the size of the stock.
• The Fishing Mortality Rate (F) is a measure of the proportion of a fish stock that is removed (caught) each year. F is measured on a logarithmic scale; thus a value of 1.0 (F1.0) corresponds to 63% of the stock being removed each year, F0.7corresponds to 50% of the stock being removed and F0.5 to 39%.

Two general trends are apparent from the whitefish data:

The spawning stock biomasses (SSB) of most whitefish stocks have increased
since the mid-2000s, in some cases by substantial amounts.

The fishing mortality rates (F) for all the species covered have declined since
the mid-2000s, again by substantial amounts in some cases.

Although the sizes of some stocks (such as cod and haddock) remain below levels seen in the past, stocks of others (such as plaice and hake) are at historic highs.

Read the paper online:

The paper was published by Ian R Napier (ian.napier@uhi.ac.uk) for the University of Highlands & Islands. 

Looking down on us now.

Dudley Penrose 1939-2017

The service provided by Penlee lifeboat station relies almost entirely on the unstinting support of volunteers - from the sea-going crew who see all the action to lifeboat station crew, to tea-making, cake-baking, stall-manning volunteers. So, it was particularly sad this morning to learn of the deaths of two outstanding of its most loyal and long-standing supporters:

"It truly is a very sad day for Penlee Lifeboat Station - their flag is flying at half mast for long-serving Head Launcher, Dudley Penrose, who passed away earlier today as well as long-serving supporter, Binkie Wallen.

Shipwright Dudley, a Mousehole man born and bred, joined the Penlee Lifeboat Shore Crew at the age of 17yrs. He was a 'runner', who at the sound of the maroon would run from his home on Raginnis Hill, Mousehole to the lifeboat station at Penlee Point to assist with the launching process.

In 1970 he became Head Launcher and served 47 years with the RNLI, retiring in 1983 when the lifeboat moved to Newlyn. Dudley loved the RNLI and everything about it - he was a loyal, dedicated, hard working, well respected volunteer, who was much loved by all at Penlee - in Dudley's words, 'The RNLI was my life, the lifeboat always came first'.

Our thoughts are with his daughter Linda (wife of Ajax skipper Alan Dwan) and the family. Another loyal member of our lifeboat family has crossed the bar."

Get the full picture from the Penlee RNLI lifeboat page on Facebook.

True Grit and the Future of Fishing

The latest post from Mike Warner's EastCoastAvocet's blog focuses on the gritty side of fishing, the story of Lowestoft skipper, Jefferey Melton. As a way of life, fishing is diminishing - as are many other traditional occupations across the globe that require graft. While it seems there are there are plenty of adrenaline junkies' videos on YouTube from young people getting their kicks from taking risks there seem to be a diminishing number of them in this increasingly sanitised and safety-obsessed world willing to do so in order to earn a rewarding living. 

Mike's story is not intended to glorify but to tell it as it is - any work involving moving machine parts has associated risks - as does everyday commuting on public roads in a country with 26 million cars. In Newlyn, local bass fisherman, Steven 'Cod' Astley had a brush with septicemia that cost him both legs, amputated below the knee - 

he is determined to get back to sea once he gets used to his new pins.


Here, a few extracts from Mike's story highlights some of the key issues and events that have shaped current thinking:

"I’ve often spoken of the dangers that our fishermen face at sea (and on land) in their timeless pursuit of wild seafood. Indeed, with an unprecedented nine lives being tragically lost in the first half of 2016 alone (Seafish) and more life-changing accidents being recorded than the Alaskan Crab fishery, so graphically portrayed in the riveting documentary Deadliest Catch, the UK’s most dangerous peacetime occupation has certainly been living up to its reputation recently.

These alarming statistics have prompted organisations such as the RNLI ,The Fishermens Mission and Seafish to galvanise and redouble their efforts in encouraging fishermen to wear PFDs (personal flotation devices) and have been handing them out free, to those who qualify, as described in my 2015 post, reflecting the jointly organised and well-documented #SeaYouHomeSafe campaign. This laudable and essential practice of life preservation following a man overboard incident, has not just saved many lives already but sought closure for bereaved families where the deceased’s body has been successfully recovered.

But PFD’s don’t prevent accidents. Disaster can lurk behind every crashing lump of icy swell and every straining warp, but equally, as identified by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB), many incidents recorded occur in relatively calm conditions, during the fairer weather months from June to September (Seafish).

Skipper Jefferey Melton aboard the Serene Dawn

Lowestoft skipper Jeffery Melton, was fishing singlehandedly aboard his 14m beamer, Serene Dawn (LT 7), in the Wash, in May 2015, a freak set of circumstances combined to render the 54 year old Jeffery, a well-known, hugely experienced and much admired East Anglian fisherman, suddenly and violently disabled in an horrific, split-second trauma, whilst towing for shrimps some miles off the North Norfolk coast.

“It was just another day” he smiles, “a routine I’ve practised a thousand times. I got down to the fish room, to look at the pump and began to lift the hatch, which was proving stubborn to move. As I gave it a shove, it freed and I stumbled forward.”

The ensuing seconds remain a blur to Jeffery, but in the following hazy and searingly shocking moments, he realised that where his booted and oilskinned left leg had been, was now a tangled, bleeding mass of shattered bone and torn flesh, below the knee.

“I thought to myself, Jeffery boy, what the hell ha’ you done?”

Read the full story here with pictures of a recent trip with Jefferey talking candidly to Mike Warner.

Monday morning with two full trips of fish on the auction floor.

One of the port's biggest beam trawlers landed a good mix of fish for this morning's market...

including these huge megrims soles..

huge monk...

along with these much smaller monk known as scampi tails - as they were often used to create 'scampi' when cut into bite-sized portions and deep fried coated in breadcrumbs - back in the 70s, the Newlyn Meadery was associated with such a practice, maybe just an urban myth!...

Cefas vs Moushole Fish; time to catch up on a little weekend football gossip...

the lateral line of which fish?...

got to love those lemons form the St Georges...

the netter, Ajax's fish spilled over on to the main auction hall...

more distinct lateral lines but from which fish...

head to tail, just like dancing the conger...

just two grades of hake form the Ajax's big trip...

more distinct lateral lines, but this time white ones, but which fish?...

all hail the mighty hake...

drizzly, very drizzly, mizzly Monday morning...

but there is no end in sight of the mackerel filling the boots of the handliners working in St Ives bay...

and the odd bass or two...

young and old John Dory...

scallops by the bag.

Marazion murmurations.

At this time of year, just yards from the beach looking towards St Michael's Mount, hundreds of thousands of starlings gather at dusk to roost overnight in the trees around Marazion in Cornwall.

Farming Today talking Brexit at Peterhead.

What is the likely impact of Brexit on UK fisheries? Charlotte Smith visits Peterhead, the UK's largest fish market, in north east Scotland.

Charlotte attends the early morning fish market at Peterhead, humming with activity, as 7,000 boxes of freshly caught fish are sold. Among the twenty varieties under the hammer are some huge halibuts, one of them over 100kg in weight, caught as far north as the Faroe Isles. She meets Jimmy Buchan of BBC2's 'Trawlermen' series who reflects on the longterm impact of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy, which led to Peterhead's fleet being cut by over 40% ten years ago. But he's optimistic about the opportunities for fisheries beyond Brexit. Charlotte also speaks to Fisheries Minister George Eustice who lays out his plans for 'reclaiming UK waters'.

Meanwhile, the Peterhead Port Authority is undertaking a £50M infrastructure project that will reshape the port's facilities and fish market for the future.

Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Mark Smalley.

Discover how to influence the decision-making process and how the Low Impact Fishers of Europe can help you reach your goals! 

Discover the set of rules established to manage European fisheries and how LIFE can make your voice heard!

The place to be to provide a real and concrete input to european and national policies, with the support of LIFE!

Download the official guide on http://lifeplatform.eu/tutorials/

NFFO TAKES POSITION ON NORTH SEA PLAN

Through its work with the North Sea Advisory Council, the NFFO has been centrally involved in the preparation of NSAC advice in the lead up to the Commission’s proposal for a multi-annual plan for the demersal fisheries in the North Sea. In particular, we have been supportive of the potential flexibility provided by F ranges in setting TACs that are compatible with both MSY objectives and implementation of the landing obligation.

NFFO Takes Position on North Sea Plan

Brexit

Having been launched by the Commission, we suppose that the proposal will now go forward and the co-decision process will run its course. We cannot but think, however, that there is a degree of wishful thinking, or ignoring the elephant in the room here. The UK’s departure from the EU will mean that the UK will be responsible for managing the fisheries within the UK exclusive economic zone. Consequently, the area of EU jurisdiction in the North Sea (and therefore the sea area covered by this plan) will be radically curtailed. Even more significantly, the institutional arrangements for setting TACs for shared stocks will also change – probably in the North Sea to a trilateral arrangement involving Norway, EU and UK, as an independent coastal state. The EU multi-annual plan will have no legal traction with Norway or the UK, and only as much political influence as the other parties will allow.

Against this background there must be a high probability that this proposal will stall going through the co-decision process. And if it does not stall, and is adopted, the capacity of Norway to block its influence when setting TACs for joint stocks suggests to us that the plan is already dead in the water in its central purpose.

UK Role

We fully understand that until the UK leaves the EU it is bound by the rights and responsibilities of the EU and the CFP. For instruments like the landings obligation, which the UK fisheries minister has suggested in large part will be absorbed into UK legislation, there is every reason for the UK to stay engaged in the development of the legislation. However, the same does not apply with the multi-annual plan. In the post-Brexit TAC setting arrangements for shared stocks, the UK will have a stronger hand after it has left the EU, than as one of twenty-eight, and we cannot see the advantage in pretending that nothing is about to change in this respect.

Apart from anything else, the assumptions on which the stakeholder consultations and impact assessments, by which the plan is underpinned will have altered radically, invalidating the results. This in itself is sufficient to question the legality as well as the rationality of continuing as though nothing is about to happen.

Rescue

There may be sound reasons why, in the context of annual negotiations towards a fisheries agreement with Norway and the EU, it might be considered expedient to rescue some of the specific measures contained in the Commission’s proposal. But we think that the kindest approach to all, considering the circumstances, is for the UK to suggest to the other co-legislators, that it might be sensible for all concerned to wait the outcome to the Brexit negotiations before adopting a piece of legislation designed for a different era.

I am sure that we can all put our time to better use.

Article courtesy of the NFFO website here:

#FishyFriday finds most of the fleet in port.

#FishyFriday fish in short supply at the end of a busy week that saw a gale blow its way through the south west...

not bad enough to drive all the boats in but certainly bad enough to give those that were at sea hard time as this shot from the office window shows of the netter, Ajax dodging some 110 miles west of Newlyn...

plenty of buyers and not so much fish with just the big beam trawler, Billy Rowney and the netter Govenek of Ladram landing... 

 so it is a big fish kind of auction, huge moink tails..

huge haddock... 

 huge pollack..

 huge coley... 

 huge roes...

 number 1 fish...

  a familiar pose...

 everything goers down in the book... 

 these ray fill the box...

 hugest Dover sole on the market this week...

 handsome Cornish MSC Certified hake...

 get loaded onto the waiting transport...

 while most of the fleet are back in port...

 waiting for a glimpse of sunshine today.

The EU’s External Fishing Fleet: Flying the Flag for Transparency and Sustainability

The EU has one of the largest fleets of fishing vessels operating all over the world. It is therefore essential that the EU’s external fishing operations are carried out legally and sustainably.

Seafood Cornwall Training - latest course news for 2017.

Seafood Cornwall Training courses - latest course news:

So you want to be skipper?

There is funding available for experienced fishermen (minimum 2 years fishing experience) wishing to refresh any of their basic or advanced level training or take courses towards their Under 16.5m Skippers Ticket.

Candidates must already hold all four basic safety certificates– Sea Survival / PST, First Aid, Fire Fighting, Health & Safety and have completed their Safety Awareness training to be eligible for funding (subject to Seafish approval).


MCA approved AEC 30hour Diesel Engine course

We are in the process of setting up a four day engineering course, which is part of the essential training needed to complete your under 16.5m Skipper’s Ticket. If you would like to be alerted once it is up and running, give us a call or email: info@seafoodcornwalltraining.co.uk


Earlier this year the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) opened the €243m European Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF) in England. The scheme is currently open for projects which focus on the reform of the CFP such as: 

• improving health and safety on fishing vessels; 
• enhancing the quality or value of catch; 
• investing in port and harbour infrastructure such as ports/auction
• halls/shelters; 
• helping the processing of seafood and aquaculture products or general investments in aquaculture.

Apply directly through the MMO website: 
https://www.gov.uk/topic/commercial-fishing-fisheries/funding. 

call 0208 026 5539 or email : emff.queries@marinemanagement.org.uk. 


Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG)

The FLAG will launch in early 2017. The FLAG has 4 priorities:

1. Supporting innovation, diversification and micro business development. Creating shared work space and collaboration between fishermen, fish marketing, adding value and development of energy reduction and innovation in plant and machinery. Improving the quality of the catch & waste solutions.

2. Developing and supporting social, economic and environmental projects which especially benefit smaller and isolated communities where the numbers of beneficiaries is low but impact is an important consideration.

3. Developing and supporting innovation in fish, fish products, fish waste and processes and adding value. Quality marks and catch quality. Environmental projects which benefit the wider fishing industry. Supporting social enterprise, branding and catch quality. Science and research, micro financial instruments. fish bi-products

4. Developing and supporting training to mentor new entrants. Working with skipper mentors and mentors in the wider fishing sectors to ensure entrants are safe and skilled in the many requirements of work.

If you have a project idea that meets one of the above priorities, please get in contact with Chris 01736 364324 or chris.ranford@cornwallrcc.org.uk to develop an expression of interest.

The University of Exeter is conducting workshops for women in fishing.
Come to one of our workshops to learn about:

• How to access funding from the Fisheries Local Action Group (FLAG).
• What help the Fishermen’s Mission can provide to fishing families.
• Information and resources for fishing families coping with stress and ill health.

Childcare and refreshments provided

28 January 2-4pm Looe Lifeboats Station and 4 February 12.30-2.30pm Mevagissey Social Club


Please visit our website for more details about our courses.

Finished work, off home - not so for Newlyn fishing boat dodging in poor weather waiting for the tide.

The Newlyn netter Stelissa caught on the webcam riding out some heavy seas in Mount's Bay as she waits for the tide before entering the harbour safley - all in a day's work for the boys.

Going against the grain

Ever wondered why scientific fisheries acoustic surveys seem to go against the grain?

Here's a very informative video from, Steve Mackinson the Chief Scientific Officer to the SPFA explaining why stock surveys appear to be conducted in a counter-intuitive way to that which fishermen might see as the means to determine the distribution of fish in a given area.

Sardines at Douarnenez, a unique place of sale

The Basse Gouach disembarking his fishing, Sunday evening, in Douarnenez

Since the beginning of January, all the sardines landed at Concarneau, Saint-Guénolé and Douarnenez are sold in one place, the auction of Rosmeur. With 90% of online purchases, this trial heads in the direction of a virtualization of the sales. It could be expanded to other species and fleets.

VesselTracker's AIS shows an identical fishing pattern to that of the Cornish sardine boats.

The sardine is abundant in the Bay of Douarnenez. At the beginning of the year, the sardine fleet went out every evening to go behind the Cape of the Goat or to the point of Tréfeuntec, for a few well-provided shots. Very early in the night, fishermen can send their input estimates. Buyers know quickly the amounts to put on sale in the morning. That off Douarnenez concentrates all their attention.

"Avoiding price differences"

Since January 3rd, it has centralized all the sardines landed in Cornouaille, which do not go directly to the Makfroid company. "This winter, the association of sardines and the producers' organization wanted to promote a systematic auction, which we know how to do: I thought we could test a unique selling point, to avoid price differentials between ports, "said Christophe Hamel, director of auctions at the Quimper Chamber of Commerce. 

At Concarneau and Saint-Guénolé, once the shots are landed and the actual quantities known, the information is transmitted to the Rosmeur auction. "By fax, for now, until one day we had a common database, evolving in real time," says Christophe Hamel.

At 6:30 am, José Salaün, responsible for the auction of Douarnenez, can start the sale, rather fast. Only a few buyers are physically present: 90% of purchases are now made via the internet. No need to see the fish so much are the characteristics of the Douarnenist sardine, Bigoudene or Concarnoise well known. "That's why the sardine lent itself to this unique sales experience: it's a flotilla concentrated on a single product, quality, everyone in front of his screen knows what to bid for," adds Christophe Hamel.


One sales team

The test conducted during this winter campaign goes in the direction of a "virtualization of sales", in his eyes, inevitable. It allows a smoothing of the price (around 60 cents per kilo currently) between the ports: with sales spread over several sites, therefore not taking place at the same time, the courses could be different. For the ICC, it is also a way of putting only one sales team moving in the morning, instead of three. Simplified organization, lower costs ... the temptation to expand the experience to other products and other fleets may exist. "We started on the species that is easiest to group, the reflection is, of course, conducted on other fisheries, but it is more complex, we are dependent on the technical tools," summarizes the director of auctions.

Meanwhile, the single sale of sardines may well see its late hour. That of 6:30 am is judged a little late, especially since the ships land early in the night. The buyers want to be able to work the fish as quickly as possible. At several levels, the world of fishing is a world that is accelerating.

Full story from Le Télégramme here:

Mid-week market full of fish.

First boat to be sold this Wednesday morning was the inshore trawler,  Harvest Reaper...

while megrim...

boxes stacked three high...

were side-by-side with plenty of monk tails...

and big flats came from the beam trawlers...

and a few hours old plaice from skipper Tom...

bolstering supplies of big white fish, the Karen of Ladram...

puts ashore a big shot of hake...

which kept the buyers busy checking the best prices they could get from their customers...

the yellow-welly gang...

the netters land stunning looking fish...

not least these cracking tub gurnards...

from the RFS member, Britannia V...

through a gap in the dark cloud...

the moon in waning crescent mode hangs high over the harbour...

with big trips from the two netters both ends of the market were home to their fish...

an early start for the super-crabber, Emma Louise landing her day's work...

with a fresh set of pots waiting to go to sea on the quay...

despite the stunning view this morning, Tom is thinking there is some wind on the way in the next 24 hours.