Cornwall Good Seafood Guide's sustainability and marketing talk in Newquay.

On the North coast of Cornwall, Newquay is the only harbour between Hayle and Padstow...

and, despite its exposed situation to the prevailing westerly swells it is home to a thriving fleet of commercial fishing...

 angling and pleasure vessels... 

the angling boats easily identified as they lack any designated fishing vessel registration letters and numbers...

most of the commercial fishing fleet fish for shellfish using pots...

though many of these use nets at certain times of the year to take advantage of seasonal fishing patterns with whitefish...

during storms the boats have to contend with 10' or more swells which lift the heavily secured boats and drop them on their keels - hence the many heavily built hulls in evidence...

the harbour is tidal, forcing the boats to sail whenever the tide is high enough - many of the fleet sailed around 2:30am this morning - and the boats are often forced to wait until late evening hours to land their catches ashore...

last night, the harbour-side Newquay Rowing club, home and workshop to the local gig rowing scene...

played host to the second of six workshops being held over the next year around Cornwall.  Matt Skater from the Cornwall Good Seafood Guide is on a mission to further strengthen the increasingly respected and liked Cornish seafood which is fast developing a brand identity all of its own. The talks focus on sustainability and marketing for individuals or small groups of like-minded fishermen who could benefit from self-promotion by making the best use of social media like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to promote awareness and sales of catches.  

At this time of year spider cabs invade the waters off Newquay in huge numbers - once a fish despised because of their perceived lack of financial reward - these days thew spider crab is renowned for its much sought after (by those who know) sweet white flesh. To celebrate this there will be a spider crab feast and picking demonstration in June - follow 'spiderman' Ross King on Twitter for more info!

For more general information visit the brand new Cornwall Good Seafood Guide website or contact Matt Slater or Larry Hartwell direct.

UK Coastguard helicopter flies 100 miles just inside French waters to evacuate unwell crewman from Newlyn beam trawler, Resurgam PZ1001

While most of us were still asleep this morning, a blast of cold sea air was being felt by UK Coastguard Paramedic Winchman Niall Hanson as he was winched onto a UK fishing vessel 100 nautical miles south of Newquay to assist an unwell crewman.

Co-ordinated by the UK Coastguard Operations Centre at Falmouth, the Newquay search and rescue helicopter flew over rough seas and just inside French waters to evacuate the sick crewman from the UK vessel. The crewman was airlifted to Treliske Hospital by the helicopter crew of Captain Mark Coupland, Co-Pilot ‘Sharky’ Finn, Paramedic Winch Operator Jason Bibby and Paramedic Winchman Niall Hanson. His condition was not thought to be life-threatening and we wish him a speedy recovery.

The footage was filmed by the helicopter team.

Clearly visible in the video during the rescue, both beam trawls are suspended from the end of the derricks to help stabilise the boat and reduce the degree of roll while the skipper steams at full speed just off the wind. This helps reduce any dramatic variations in movement which, given the proximity of the stern mast to the high-line can only make the operation safer. Notice how the winchman applies opposite pressure to the high-line as the winch reels in the diver and casualty to minimise the sway.

All skippers know the correct procedure for such an incident, so in all likelihood the only contact between the boat and the rescue helicopter would have been when the navigator calls the skipper of the boat and reminds him to "please maintain your present course and speed" - the height of a professional operation for which the fishing community of the UK can only be ever grateful.