Heavy, wet-looking low cloud hangs over a flat-calm harbour at first light...
as Gary measures the last of the morning's fish for the Cefas landing data logs...
as both auctioneers elicit bids from the assembled buyers on a packed fish market...
with most of the inshore trawl and net fleet landing their usual varied mix of fish (which is why there is still a huge elephant in the room called the Landing Obligation) boxes have been stacked eight or nine high for some single species...
and taken up most of the floor space in both market halls...
with a good few boxes of big cod...
and mackerel featuring in the netter Britannia V's latest trip...
other boats pitched in with good shots of ray...
while the John Dorys of this world seem to be eluding young Mr Nowell for the moment...
he had better luck with a good shot of lemons...
while fellow inshore trawler skipper Tom on the Harvest Reaper scratched a few monk from the sandier bits of his regular patch off to the south'ard...
some of the punt boys are still getting results setting pots for cuttlefish...
while others, like 'Cod', aka Steven Astley, have been working handlines or rodsthe odd cod...
pollack...
while Andrew Pascoe brought back another good shot of ray from the banks off Land's End...
while Uncle Pascoe gave the pollack some stick over the weekend in all that fine weather...
the biggest and best of the hake form the Britannia V...
kept the buyers on their toes and such was the frenzied bidding that...
Butts involuntarily broke the habit of a lifetime and lifted a fish-box - the look on young Mr Tonkin's face says it all according to Edwin, who very kindly captured this unique event...
seems there wasn't to much room in either cold store this morning...
so big whitefish like these haddock from the Asteria...
and a good run of John Dory...
monk tails...
even more JDs...
and of course as it is summer the beam trawlers are back on the megrim soles again...
and a few kissing JDs...
the netters always manage to pick up a few sharks..
along with one dozen of the bof the Britannia V's
a handful of red gurnards topped off with a witch sole...
visiting Scottish prawn boats always pick up a good few boxes of hake working west of the Scillys...
looks like prices are sky high again judging by the look on Colin's face...
noisy, omnipresent, black-back gulls in scavenge mode...
the trouble with twin-rigging - one boat towing two trawls at a time is that there is twice as much work to do compared to working a single trawl...
still plenty of work of a more serious nature in the winchroom aboard the Billy Rowney as the bottles of gas are testimony...
if all things maritime, historical and contemporary are your thing - at some time in your time on this planet get across the channel to the Temps Fete Maritime in Dourarnenez - a celebration of all things to do with the sea like you have never seen, or heard before as hundreds, maybe over 1000 musicians, provide the festival's background ambient sounds to create an incredible atmosphere charged with sea-passion. If you can, book a berth on a boat to live the festival intimately!
