Newlyn Harbour Advisory Board meeting - Thursday, April 15th at 13:30.

The next meeting of the Advisory Board will start at 1:30pm this coming Thursday. 

Because of Covid the meeting will take place via Teams online.

Interested members of the public are welcome to join the public element of the meeting to voice their questions and show interest. Please be mindful that there is a busy agenda and board member have a limited amount of time to get through the day's business.

Meeting details:

Thu 15 Apr 2021 1:30pm – 4pm 

Click here to Join  theTeams meeting

Or join with Google Meet meet.google.com/btd-hyjd-tya

Meeting Agenda:

Newlyn Fishermen's Forum meeting 12th October at 10am.

A reminder to all fishermen who are members of the Newlyn Fishermen's Forum that there is a meeting on Friday this week to discuss the current development plans for the harbour car park, the Strand, Sandy Cove and more - a chance to meet with others to discuss the issues that might affect day to day operations in the port over the next few years.

A new Fishermen's Forum has been created for fishermen who use Newlyn - the NFF

A new fishermen's association in Newlyn has been established to give boat owners a bigger voice in the community. Named the Newlyn Fisherman's Forum (NFF), the collective has already amassed a membership of around 60 after concerns in the fishing port that boat owners and independent fishermen were not being heard by the Harbour Commission. ​

To find out more or to join the forum, contact the Seafood Cornwall Training office on 01736 743040. ​

Dumped cod - what a waste! - a united UK front is needed say MPs

Dumped dead cod

The picture as it is today: 


Four dead cod float away from the boat. Each cod is around 5Kg.
Four times 5 = 20Kg.


That scene is repeated daily for the net boats and trawlers working in Area VIIg - see below......

Cod quota for ICES Area VIIg which is where the Ajax and other Newlyn boats will be fishing this tide is currently 300Kg per month per boat. 


20Kg is 20/300X100 = 6.6% of a month's quota caught and then dumped, dead, back into the sea - at least the crabs get a meal out of the waste.


And a timely article appeared on the BBC's web site today:



The whole of the UK needs to present a "united front" to the European Union to protect the future of fishing fleets, MPs have said. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee accused Brussels of "micro-management" in setting catch quotas. It said EU member states should decide them "as locally as possible". The MPs urged ministers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to work together to ensure UK views are heard when new EU rules are introduced. 


The European Commission says the existing system of fishing quotas - which often leads to tonnes of good fish being dumped at sea - will be changed over the next couple of years.


The major headache for the boats fishing in Area VII today is that the quota was introduced way back in 1983. At that time, the TAC (Total Allowable Catch) was set based on catch returns from the late 1970s. Unsurprisingly, the fishing fleet of Cornwall had changed significantly in that time. Most of the bigger boats in Newlyn caught very little cod - they were long lining for ling and skate at the time and there were very few trawlers working the grounds where cod habited. As a result, when the quotas were set the UK ended up with around 1200 tonnes and the French around 14000 tonnes - simply because they had a growing fleet of trawlers catching whitefish including cod. Even if the UK's quota was doubled today it would still not reflect the catching capacity of the fleet. Cod do not move far - a fact proved by tagging fish - not one cod tagged in Area VII has been recoverd in any other ICES area suggesting that the stock of cod is entirely located here in and around the Western approaches.


See the rest of the story here.

A short reminder to the Chairman of the Harbour Commissioners.

"This new website and the meetings of the Commission in public are an expression of the open and transparent way in which the Commission will be conducting this vital and important opportunity for Newlyn in the 21st Century."

"Newlyn Pier and Harbour Commissioners is a statutory port undertaking created by an Act of Parliament in 1906. Newlyn Harbour Commissioners are committed to operating the harbour in an open and accountable manner and welcome feedback from harbour users and the Newlyn Community as a whole." 

The NPHC web site remains unchanged since the 10th of May, 2011. Are the challenges faced by the board a valid excuse for not keeping harbour users and other interested parties informed?

NPHC - concern from the community.

Out in the community there is growing concern that the lack of any public engagement with the Commission following the extraordinary NPHC meeting on June 1st. This notice on Barons' Newsagent noticeboard urges all those who care about the future of the harbour to contact local Mp Andrew George, David Whitehead at British Ports Association and Richard Bennett, head of the Ports Division at the Department of Transport. 


Local paper, The Cornishman reported on the latest information provided:

NEWLYN'S beleaguered port authority is yet to set a new date for a public meeting postponed at the eleventh hour last week.
 

The harbour commission was set to discuss a disputed secret ballot held on May 31 after which a decision was made to evict three commissioners from their posts. But, in the agenda for last Wednesday's planned meeting, two of those members, Nick Howell and John Lambourn, were listed as commissioners. The third, Juliet Taylor, claimed last week she was also still a valid member of the port authority. Harbour commissioner Ray Tovey was also listed and has since confirmed he will remain in his role as vice-chairman until a replacement is found. The councillor for Gwinear, Gwithian and St Erth was appointed to the commission for four years as a representative of Cornwall Council. It was believed that he had stepped down from his post at the commission's meeting on Wednesday, June 1, to concentrate on his new role as Cabinet member for localism and devolution.

But Mr Tovey insists he will stay on as vice-chairman until another commissioner fills the role. "I said it was my intention to resign as soon as the chairman replaces me to focus on my portfolio," he said. "As soon as I became a Cabinet member at the end of May, I signalled I would have to resign."

Also up for discussion at last week's cancelled meeting was the reappointment of commissioners Kevin Bennetts and Elizabeth Stevenson, whose 12-month terms had expired prior to the May 31 meeting. Another commissioner, Dave Munday, resigned from the commission in protest over the sacking of Nick Howell, John Lambourn and Juliet Taylor.

As it stands the next Newlyn Harbour Commission meeting is scheduled for August 3. The commission hopes to make three new appointments this year. The closing date for nominations was June 30, and selection and appointments were due to take place this month.

article copyright THE CORNISHMAN

Commission to make three appointments this summer

THERE are 11 harbour commissioners, of which eight are appointed by the board, two appointed by Cornwall Council and one to be the harbour management representative. Three new appointments will be made in 2011.

Nominations are sought from stakeholders, harbour users and others for the position of Newlyn harbour commissioner to be appointed from July 2011 or as soon as possible thereafter, to serve for a three-year period in compliance with the Newlyn Harbour Revision Order 2010.  The position is without remuneration. At present, monthly board meetings are held, but the frequency of these meetings is likely to reduce in the coming months.

New appointments are made against a job description under a selection and interview process and will be in accordance with rules for public appointments.

Criteria:

Successful appointees are expected to have special knowledge or ability in one or more of the following fields: commerce, shipping, fishing and cargo handling, maritime activities, boating and leisure activities, health and safety, community issues, public/industrial relations, management, accountancy or financial management, environmental matters. On this occasion the board is particularly seeking to appoint persons with commercial licensed fishing boat-ownership experience, especially in a seagoing capacity, and from individuals who have a keen interest in the harbour and the local community.

Appointments will be made by Newlyn Harbour Commissioners.

Closing date for nominations is 9am on June 30. Selection and appointments will take place in July. Further details can be obtained from Andrew Munson, harbourmaster at the Harbour Office in Newlyn. Call 01736 362523 or e-mail andrewmunson@btconnect.com

article copyright THE CORNISHMAN