Good to see the latest sardine boat, Vesta finally out of her fitting out berth and join her sister-ship, Asthore ready for action...
a trio of netters all set for the next neap tide...
on the day of the Chancellor's Spring Statement, there's more light at the end of the quay in Newlyn for many than that tunnel he talked about...
a wave from the wheelhouse of the Pelagic Marksman as she heads in...
and lands a dollop of fresh sardines at the market...
which is now beginning to look very much more in keeping with the local buildings with the addition of granite facing...
on England's top port for landings...
inside the market there are some big shots of big hake...
from the likes of the Govenek of Ladram...
each fish has been carefully gutted between the jaw and the anal fin...
the hake, a true predator...
the crab paws are out in force...
and at this time of year mature fish are full of eggs (hard roe)...
and milts (soft roe)...
pollack are good providers of roe...
while monk also provide great liver...
back on the flats, a few lemons...
and plenty of boxes...
of brill for the Sapphire II...
other boats, with gear on the rocky or hard ground landed a few colourful wrasse...
and a few dozen boxes of sardines from the sardine boat, Pelagic Marksman who landed last evening...
many fish have disproportionately large mouths in relation to their overall body size...
a handful of St Ives boats were able to pick away on some good mackerel...
all of which kept a big crowed of buyers busy...
bidding on big fish like these ling...
most fish have swim bladders - it is how they adjust their bodies to cope with the difference in pressure at different depths - if they are brought to the surface quickly in nets their swim bladders cannot cope with the rapid change in pressure and cannot diffuse the air in the quickly enough back in the body - this is why most discarded fish die when they go back in the water...
both sides of the ray...
summer will bring a few more of these on the grounds...
beam trawlers, despite their power, catch very little cod which is easily able to avoid the trawl, this was the only cod caught in the Sapphire's trip...
there were plenty of tub gurnards being bottom dwelling fish...
while these red mullet seem to have been visited by a ghostly ice apparition...
just time to grab a quick mug of tea...
the last thing many small fish see before they become a hake's latest meal...
time for more tea...
a damp day in prospect with a fresh sou'eastelry breeze on the way...
work in progress to face off the old breeze-block facing wall of the market...
more like a dull gay dawn rather than a silver one...
door adjustments for the Crystal Sea...
back in for the day, the crabber Harriet Eve.
