Marazion murmurations.

At this time of year, just yards from the beach looking towards St Michael's Mount, hundreds of thousands of starlings gather at dusk to roost overnight in the trees around Marazion in Cornwall.

Artist in residence - aboard the Karen of Ladram.

England's greatest artist, JMW Turner famously lashed himself to the mast of a sailing boat to experience first hand a storm at sea in the name of art...

225 years later portrait artist Henrietta Graham, the other half of Tim Hall from Newlyn based Painting Holidays, set sail aboard the netter Karen of Ladram to record the working lives of skipper Sid and his crew...

after steaming for 12 hours the boat is ready to shoot the first of her nets, at 2 in the morning...

 as they fish for hake 120 miles west of Land's End...

a few hours later, shooting almost done all hands are treated to one of those sunrises that make the job so rewarding...

and inspiring as the first preliminary drawing comes off her sketch pad.

Your health matters, can you help yourself and others?

Tea and sympathy have their place - but sometimes you really need to see a doctor.

The University of Exeter is conducting a survey on fishermen’s health

http://fishermenshealth.org/

How easy is it to get a doctor’s appointment when you need one?

• Fishing is a physically and mentally demanding job – your biggest asset is your health!


• This study aims to collect data to help improve healthcare services for fishermen, and ultimately benefit your health.


• Your responses are important to help us understand how fishermen engage with healthcare.


• Your responses will be analysed anonymously – you do not have to give your name.

We are asking you to share your experiences in a short survey, please click here to answer  a few questions to help us to help you - and others. 

Happy St Piran's Day one and all!

St Francis of Newlyn

A long-standing Cornish fishermen is supporting Cornwall Wildlife Trust's new awareness campaign – My Wild Life.

Francis Harris is a wildlife lover, has a degree in zoology and has worked for most of his life fishing off Cornwall. He is now part of Newlyn based brand Dreckly Fish who are gaining a reputation for some of the freshest and most sustainably caught fish to be landed on Cornish shores.

Lobsters coming Dreckly your way!

My Wild Life is a campaign to change the way people view and value nature and the charity aims to inspire more people to join them and take action for nature.

Francis Harris said: "From an early age I was interested in animals of all sorts, from creepy crawlies to the largest herbivores and predators. A Mousehole childhood concentrated my interests on the marine side of things, with a special interest in birds, which led to a degree in zoology and geology after a sojourn in the Midlands.

"Returning to Cornwall, and a working lifetime in the fishing industry which has given me the opportunity to observe local wildlife on a wide scale, little and large, common and rare, with some once in a lifetime sightings.

" I hope Cornwall continues to offer wildlife a place to flourish, so that future generations will be able to see, and hear, and appreciate the wonderful things that I have experienced during my time here in unique Cornwall."

Chris Betty, communications officer at Cornwall Wildlife Trust, added: "Francis is a fantastic addition to our My Wild Life campaign, which aims to highlight that nature is important for all of us whether it is for our livelihood or just our basic happiness and wellbeing.

"He is a great ambassador for the Cornish fishing industry and for healthy sustainable seas. He is a real wildlife lover and has many fascinating tales of the things he has seen during a lifetime at sea."

The trust will soon be encouraging local Cornish people to share their own wild lives with them and the chance to win a very cool prize.

www.cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk/mywildlife

Full story courtesy of the Cornishman:  Follow us: @CornishmanPaper on Twitter 

'The Business of Fishing'

'The Business of Fishing' aims to improve everyone's understanding of the business aspects of the UK fishing industry by showing some of the day-to-day and strategic challenges that fishing vessel owners face and how they overcome those challenges. The video shows the industry through the eyes of four different vessel owners from different fishing sectors and regions of the UK. The focus is on running a successful business while taking care of the fish stocks and the natural environment.

'The Business of Fishing' was screened for the first time at an event at the Mayfair Hotel in London on Tuesday 12 March 2013. At the screening event, the invited audience of policy makers, environmental NGOs, media and industry representatives each had the opportunity to meet vessel owners involved in the film and discuss some of the issues that it explored. A further launch event was held in Edinburgh the following week and several other screenings around the UK and in Brussels followed as popular demand grew. The film has been shown at a discussion event in the European Parliament and to DG Mare at the European Commission in Brussels, to the House of Commons all party fisheries committee in London.

West country viewers should have no trouble in spotting the familiar face of skipper David Stevns Jnr aboard the family owned Crystal Sea II.

Commissioned by Sea Fish Industry Authority - the Authority on Seafood

Filmed and Edited by Greenroom Films, Edinburgh Executive Producer for Seafish: Hazel Curtis ©Sea Fish Industry Authority 2013

Porthleven Food Festival

 This time it was the sun not storms that no doubt helped to engulf one Cornish port at the weekend as floods of people descended on Porthleven for its annual Food Fest, opened by chef Anthony Worrall-Thompson........

 there were plenty of local produce stands, Cornish Duck being one......

 a huge demonstration tent houses a constant stream of entertaining cooking events throughout the day.....

 the stalls showcase just how diverse the range of Cornish produce has become over the years......

 with cured meats being a big favourite........

 and in recent years sweet-toothed fans have plenty to choose from......

 along with that ever-increasing cheese board that seems to grow ever broader year on year!

The media's white tipped shark frenzy.

Huge shark caught by Newlyn trawler.

There's no let up in the media frenzy stirred up over last week's white tipped shark sighting by Ian Bullus off St Ives. The Sun, the Daily Express and many more papers are convinced that hundreds of shark crazed anglers are heading down the A30 towards St Ives as fast as fearful holidaymakers head up the A30 in retreat! Still, at least it has kept those on duty at the National Coastwatch Institution's station overlooking St Ives Bay busy!

Not what you want to come face to face with.