The first 'clock' auction for 2021 gets underway with auctioneers Ryan and Ian at the helm...
and it's good to see a bumper mix of quality fish that has given Newlyn its reputation for providing the most divers range of fish on a regular basis to UK consumers like lemon sole...
red mullet...
and the very best day boat caught from inshore trawlers like the Still Waters...
and the Immy...
along with whiting...
and even the odd cod...
the new regime involves printed tallies that ID the box of fish bought by the buyers from their terminals...
that are dropped on each box...
identified by weight...
and vessel name...
which means the practice of using individual tallies...
has not changed...
since the introduction of...
the online auction...
each box also indicates the quality and provenance of the fish....
and a quality grade - though there don't seem to be any grades for gill and trammel net or inshore trawl fish as yet ...
I'm sure the Spirited Lady would rather not have the A+ beam trawl classification given the short length of time at sea and overall quality of its fish given that the same quality mark would include a 40m beam trawler towing 10m beam trawls and spending 8 days at sea...
with some fine(ish) weather over the weekend landings of mackerel came thick and fast ...
from the handliners both in Mounts Bay...
and St Ives...
at this time of year the inshore trawlers always seem to pick up good shots of ray...
and the odd cod...
with the Spirited Lady...
Still Waters...
and the Immy getting in on the act...
well, we may not be in the Mediterranean but this big fella bears the name...
here's looking at you...
said the gurnard to the conger...
the Algrie...
and the Trevessa IV picked up a few more cod, not a common fish in south western waters at this time of ear and certainly nowhere near in the kind of quantities to keep even a few of the local chippies supplied with the UK's favourite Friday night fish supper...
so it would be good to see more of them put ray wings on their menus...
also not too common at this time of year, John Dory, very much a summer fish...
while these little chaps just seem to appear anywhere you put down a trawl...
a trio of fine brill...
catch the eye of retired sardine skipper Pete 'bigger the balls' Buckland, now with his feet firmly ashore...
now that buying takes place inline the market floor is now devoid of buyers and porters...
where to clean your boots...
the main auction hall was empty this morning...
Falmouth registered Ocean Pride alongside the market...
looks like an our or two's worth of mending for the boys on the sardiner Vesta...
two...
and two more of Rowse's crabbers take a break...
Golden Harvest's sardine net in its entirety on the quayside.
