How Jupiter and Venus met on Monday morning in Newlyn.

Ocean Pride all set to land...

on a somewhat chilly morning here in Newlyn...

as the buyers head back inside from bidding on the cuttles...

a rare sight these days, pollack from the Silver Dawn who more often than not lands her fish into France...

while regulars like the Lisa land the usual combination of Dovers, monks and megrim soles...

and the odd bass...

not able to compete with the likes of Cod on the Butts who must have put inconsiderable effort to fish over the weekend giving the strength of the wind and the general sea conditions and demonstrating that just because you now how have a pair of titanium lower limbs it doesn't stop him from putting to sea to earn a living...

buyers busy bidding...

and its bass form the Butts again...

along with a few JDs from the nettter Charisma...

and a few big cod...

the results of many years close working relationship now sees the netters able to land instead of dumping their dogfish, though still subject to a ton per boat per month...

catch of the day goes to the Ajax with this huge trip of hake...

the biggest of fish coming from the Padstow boat though...

this morning a rare event - the God of Sky and Thunder and the Goddess of Love,  Jupiter and Venus, get close this morning...

also on this morning's market, hake form the Britannia V...

happy in his work...

as Stevenson's auctioneers get bust selling the mnorning's fish...

outside the market the Elisabeth Veronique makes her way to the ice plant...

to take ice and water...

close up shot of the top working deck on the visiting Irish trawler, Fragrant Cloud...

as she waits for the tide to rise before she can sail again.

Hake in the North Sea, Skagerrak and Norwegian coastal waters.

"Hail the hake!" became the watchword for skpper Phil aboard the gillnetter, Govenek of Ladram in the Ch4 TV series, The Catch.  Forty, fifty, sixty years ago the mainstay of the fleet in Newlyn were the longliners, then came trawlers and beam trawlers, then came the netters, first fishing with multi and then mono-nets - mainly for hake. Hake was everywhere - a huge fleet of Spanish longliners and trawlers fished for hake all year round and all round the western waters - from south of the Lizard in Cornwall to the Porcupine Bank off the west coast of Ireland.  

Many visiting Scottish fishermen had never seen a hake until they fished aboard a Cornish boat - haddock yes, by the ton but hake? no, never!  Conversely, your average Cornish fishermen hardly ever saw a haddock - trawlermen often used to argue over who would take the handful of half decent haddock home for 'homers'. 

Wind the clock forward to today and the world has changed.  In just four weeks in January this year, Newlyn skipper Roger Nowell, with the 12m inshore trawler Imogen III reckons he dumped (because he has no quota) £20,000 worth of haddock back over the side - and that was without fishing overnight which is when haddock catches are at their best!  Now head north of the border up into the North Sea, home of the haddock and we found Scottish trawlers enjoying a bonanza of hake - where once they saw none.

These two fish highlight the impending disaster that is the Landing Obligation - which EU or no EU, CFP or no CFP we, as in the UK, will be subject fully subject to come 2018 - and with miniscule quoats odf both fish in their respective areas - because the fish were never there before - the issue of 'choke species' becomes a reality.

So it is timely to see that the Norwegian Institute for Marine Research has posted a little more in the way of research on the matter of North Sea hake today.

Here's the full article form the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research.

"The distribution of the European hake covers an area extending from Mauritania off the north-west coast of Africa northwards to Iceland and east over to Norway and the North Sea, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. The last couple of years have seen an increase in hake abundance especially in the North Sea, north of Scotland and west of Ireland. It is uncertain whether these observations are the result of good recruitment, influx from surrounding areas, or reduced fishing mortality. Landings from the North Sea have also increased the last 5 years, and as such reduced fishing mortality is unlikely to be the reason for the observed increase in abundance.

Hake is found close to the bottom at 50-600 meters depth during the day, but may migrate upwards into shallower depths at night to feed. The main preys include mackerel, herring, blue whiting and mesopelagic nekton (lanternfish, hatchetfish, shrimps, and krill). Stomach content analyses have also shown that hake prey on hake, but that the extent of cannibalism depends on fish size and location.

Hake that is distributed along the Spanish coast and in the Bay of Biscay spawns mainly between January and June, whilst specimens in Norwegian waters appear to spawn between July and October. Estimating the age of hake is difficult partly because of false annual rings associated with environmental changes and also because of unclear otolith cores. Recaptures from tagging studies done off the coast of France have shown that hake grow quicker than previously assumed. Based on the comparison of genetic material hake in the North Sea seems to be different to fish west of Scotland and in the Mediterranean Sea.

Hake with its firm white meat is a popular and sought after species especially in Europe. Spain is the largest consumer of hake, followed by Portugal, France and Italy."

Facts about hake

Latin name – Merluccius merluccius
Other name: Svartkjeft eller kolkjeft, Heek, Merluccius merluccius, Hake, Merlu, Seehecht, Merluza, Nasello
Family: Hake family (Merlucciidae)
Maxiumum size: 140 cm and > 13 kg
Lifespan: 12 years
Distribution: North East Atlantic, North Sea, Skagerrak / Kattegat, Norwegian fjords
Spawning areas: Bay of Biscay and west of Ireland / England along the 200 m isobaths, North Sea and Norwegian fjords
Spawning time: During summer / autumn in Norwegian fjords
Feed: Herring, mackerel, hake, mesopelagic fish, krill

Map of distribution

Status, advice and fishery
Hake in the North Sea and Skagerrak/Kattegat is managed as part of ICES ‘northern hake’ stock, which also covers the Bay of Biscay, Celtic Sea, and the area west of Ireland and Scotland. Hake north of 62° is not part of this management area.

Article courtesy of the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research.

Mid-week market in Nelwyn.

The mid-week market is often full of small shots of fish from the inshore fleet like this smattering of monk form the New Harmony, a hard-won catch from off the Lizard...

or these banging bass from the likes of Cap'n Cod...

or these beautiful blonde rays from the trawler Shiralee...

and his sparkling plaice...

the only beam trawler to land was the Sapphire II who had decided to go with the cuttlefish...

while both the Gary M  and the Britannia V both put their trips of net caught MSC Certified hake ashore...

while outside the market the Girl Pamela takes on enough bait for a day on the pots - despite a scuffly forecast for the day as the back end of a front bringing wind and rain pass across the south west this morning.

#FishyFriday sees Penwith College serving the first MSC Cornish Hake!

Britannia V skipper Matthew and crew are the latest boat to land their first trip of MSC Cornish hake on the market today...

Once an MSC Chain of Custody has been created for Penwith College's training restaurant they will be able to serve customers with accredited fish from the local fleet of netters.  In the meantime, chefs-to-be working away in Penwith College's training kitchen have cooked up this delicious dish of hake, saffron ailoi, new potatoes, rocket & fennel salad as one of today's main courses.

@PenwithSenara restaurant takes booking for Tuesday to Friday lunches and Friday evenings - at an amazing £3.50 a course - you can't go wrong!

Booking a table is advised! 01736335215

Here is today's lunchtime menu - next week sees Jamie Porter from the St Moritz Hotel in Falmouth treating the restaurant to a taster menu.

Fine dining at Penwith College's Senara Restaurant

Here is a typical menu to be enjoyed of a lunchtime at Senara - only £4.50 a course! 

#EatMoreFish

Potted Shrimp + Crab w/ Toast

Mushroom Soup w/ Garlic Crouton

Anti Pasti

Squid w/ Chilli + Garlic

*****

Hake, Asparagus + Tomato w/ Champagne Sabayon

Spiced Shoulder of Pork w/ Peanut Curry

Roast Chicken w/ Crushed New Potatoes, Corn Salsa + Rocket

Arancini w/ Ratatouille + Basil Oil

*****

Amaretto Semi Freddo

Strawberries w/ Sesame Meringues

Mr Hanson Cheese, Biscuits + Chutney

Crème Brulee

Newlyn's latest boat the Ajax lands her first trip to the fish market.

Ten days after leaving McDuff in Scotland the Ajax makes her first landing on Newlyn with over 300 boxes of hake and whitefish on board. As per usual, the landing is split between Newlyn and the fish market at Brixham to get the best prices for the boat. 

Ajax steaming south off the coast of Cornwall now

A short animation of the Ajax as she makes her way down the Irish Sea, through the St George's Channel towards Land's End...

using her current speed of 9 knots as a guide she is due to arrive in Newlyn around 14:30

where she hopes to pick up some strong ebb tide off the Brisons (off Cape Cornwall) and make 11 or 12 knots which should get her round the corner...

tide times courtesy of the TidePlanner app

in time to get Through the Gaps before low water at 14:20 (times here are not BST).

Fishing for hake aboard the Ajax from Newlyn, 30 miles WNW of the Scillies

Landing at 9am on Bank Holiday Monday morning in time for the 22nd Fish Festival, the Newlyn netter Ajax put over 30 boxes of fish ashore after a lightning two day trip in order to land top quality hake for use on displays and the fish filleting competition.  Festival organisers were lucky enough to have Cornophile Caroline Quentin on hand to perform the opening ceremony and she also made time to watch the crew of the Ajax land their fish alongside the market. Expect to see footage of her talking to the crew and skipper Alan Dwan in her forthcoming TV series on ITV later this year.

Soundtrack:

Buccas Four - Spirit of the Sea
Breanda Wotton - To the Sea - Lamorna
Marta Sebestyen - When Morning Breaks
Brenda Wotton - The First Time Ever
Marta Sebestyen - The Rooster is Crowing
Michael Chapman - The Wind has Changed

News from the Ajax - working close to Breton trawlers

Here's an update via Inmarsat C from the Newlyn netter, Ajax:

Message from Inmarsat-C Mobile

good morning 

We had good day fishing 60bxs Hake aboard. Today is calm and fog has lifted we have a lot of trafic here today French Trawlers Pluton,Laura,LeMurex, Ar Laeres,Hent Ar Mor,Hunure Gouet Gwel A Vo and La Nautile Sat C been busy and they staying away from our nets

The AIS shot shows the relatively small area of ground being worked by the trawlers that skipper Alan Dwan mentions in his post. 

Great British chefs say - eat hake!

Image courtesy of Great British Chefs

Wit the Ajax landing fish on Newlyn and Brixham fish markets this morning - here's a cahnce to indulge in a dish using the fish with a real hint of Spain in the ingredients - chorizo! Cannned chickpeas are OK to use too!


Celebrate great British food like hake along with all the other home-grown delights that are now in season by visiting the Great British Chefs web site for more recipes and ideas from great British Chefs and restaurants. There's even an app for your mobile phone too to help keep in touch with what our top chefs and other fish fanatics are up to around the UK.


The salt of the chorizo perfectly balances the earthy chickpeas and fresh coriander in this delicious fish dish from Geoffrey Smeddle. You'll need to soak your chickpeas overnight for this recipe so make sure you plan ahead - alternatively you can buy tinned, cooked chickpeas and save yourself some prep time.


Ingredients: (for four big British appetites!)


4 lemons, three cut into wedges and one for juicing 
1 carrot, peeled and halved lengthways 
1 slice of bacon 150g of chorizo sausage 
1 onion, peeled and cut into wedges 
150ml of double cream salt pepper olive oil 
1 bunch of coriander, leaves chopped 
500g of dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in cold water 
2kg of fillet of hake, scaled and pin boned

1.

Soak the chickpeas in cold water, ensuring there is twice the volume of water to chickpeas

2.

Once soaked, strain off the water, place the chickpeas in a colander and rinse well under cold running water

3.

Transfer them to a large pan and add the carrot, onion, bacon and a good glug of olive oil

4.

Add enough water to rise at least a couple of inches above the chickpeas, then simmer until very tender, keeping an eye on the water in case it needs topping up

5.

Once the chickpeas are cooked, let them cool in the liquor, removing the veg and bacon

6.

Once cool, take about a fifth of the chickpeas out of the liquid, place in the jug of a blender with the cream and, if needed, a little cooking liquid, then process to a coarse purée . Store in a tub until needed

7.

Place the chorizo in a pan of cold water, bring to a simmer and then strain immediately. Once cool enough to handle, peel off the skin, cut the meat into 1cm dice and place in a pan large enough to hold the chickpeas too

8.

Cook on a moderate heat until the chorizo is gently sizzling, add the rest of the chickpeas and enough cooking liquid so the pan is moist

9.

When hot, add the chickpea puree, taste for seasoning and keep warm while cooking the hake

10.

Heat a large non-stick pan and add a generous amount of oil. Season the skin of the hake with salt and place in the pan skin side down, frying each piece for about 4 minutes until the skin crisps

11.

Turn the fish over and remove the pan from the heat. Add a good squeeze of lemon juice to the pan, spooning the juices over the fish as it frys

12.

Add the coriander to the chickpeas, taste for seasoning then arrange on a platter. Place the fillets of hake on top, spoon on the pan juices and serve

Now Scottish Langoustine - next Cornish Hake?

Scottish prawns are set to grace the shelves of Sainsbury's supermarkets after suppliers struck a deal with the retailer. The prawns, caught off the West Coast of the country, will be branded as Scottish langoustines. The deal means shoppers will be able to buy UK-caught langoustines that have not previously been frozen for the the first time. The Fresh Scottish West Coast Langoustine will be available in all of Sainsbury's 390 fish counter stores.

Let's hope it won't be too long before Sainsburys has a new line of prime fish, Cornish Hake!

Social Networking - a far cry from link calls and VHF!

In business terms they would be known as 'early adopters' - people who take up with a new product or service when it first appears on the market.  Fishing, despite being a a traditional industry, has plenty of early adopters when it comes to new products or services that improve fishing performance. So, with full access to the internet restricted to bigger boats that can afford the luxury of sat comms it's good to see a few of the smaller vessels make use of new technology, like social networking sites through using Inmarsat C and the mobile phone networks. Of course, fishermen for many years have made use of their VHF radios and 'big sets' at sea to create their own kind of fishermen's social network between vessels from different ports and even countries!

Budding Rose taken from her pair-seine partner Lapwing - the boats fish from Peterhead in Scotland.

Today, a handful of smaller boats have their own blogs, Newlyn's Crystal Sea II and Peterhead's Budding Rose are two examples. The Scottish boat is part of a pair-seine team, her partner-in-crime being the Lapwing. The boats work in the North Sea, off the Shetlands and over in the Norwegian sector on the Bergen Bank in the summer months. Sometimes, they target hake like the Newlyn netting fleet and there are photos of good hauls of hake on the blog.

More recently a few boats have begun to experiment with Twitter to chronicle their daily fishing activity. Yesterday, with Alan the Ajax's skipper now signed up to Twitter, we learnt that while fishing over 100 miles west of Newlyn deep off the coast of Ireland she had been towed by a big Spanish trawler - then late last night we heard the catch results when half way through hauling her gear on the first day - with 100stone (approx. 650Kg) of 2-4Kg hake - good fishing - but with the forecast giving SW 5-7, a very uncomfortable night in store!

Hopefully, more boats will be encouraged to get to grips with the technology and find the time to bring their fishing stories to a computer, tablet or smart phone screen near you!

Pizza Patio goes Italian!

It's re-launch night at The Italian Kitchen tonight (what was Newlyn's extremely popular Pizza Patio) and top choice has to be the hake - if you haven't tried hake before - do so! Seafish recently ran a campaign, as has Seafood Cornwall to promote the consumption of this highly prized fish - in Spain where the market has collapsed since their economy took a turn for the worse.