Early start on the Ajax

The Georide boys take on ice as the sun comes up......
a good night's work for the Cornish Sardine fleet, 25 500kg insulated tubs wait for collection inside the market......
out on the quay all hands pull nets to be mended from the Ajax.....
where the flashing red gauntlet of Jeremy sets the pace for others to follow....

with sardine bins to be shifted, the OceanFish forklift coughs into life.

CFRC new home

Late in the evening, the Billy Rowney puts the finishing touches to her port side gear.....
the view from the reception desk of the Cornwall Fisheries Resource Centre is much improved these days - they have just moved into the old South West Nets premises overlooking the harbour....
looking back into the centre, Sarah Henshall is now confident that visitors to the centre will now be able to enjoy the spacious accommodation which will allow for larger conferences and presentations to be held on the premises....
not only is the centre a base for the South West Handline Fishermen's Association but also the new home for Nathan de Rozarieux and the sterling work of Seafood Cornwall...... doeznes of frozen bait boxes are heaved aboard the Intuition in readiness for her next trip.....

while the Billy Rowney takes on fresh water.

Being Resolute, Oceanfish score last night

One of the most modern punts in the fleet, the Porth Enys is up on the quay for some maintenance work.....
back in action away from the sardines the Little Pearl has a shot of bass on the market....
when your home port is Cadgwith, home to the Lizard Lifeboat, and you care about quality insultaed tubs are de-rigeur these days....
a lonely contrail could have been mistaken for a flare in the dull dawn light this morning....
opposite the market there's not much you can't find on the shelves of Waghorns General Stores....
cocooned and all wrapped up for Christmas, the Plymouth Explorer has the shot-blasting team aboard....

a solid night's work for the Resolute means that OceanFish factory will be kept busy later today.

Basking shark satellite tracking device found on Padstow beach.

A lucky find for a local dog walker returns the tracking device from a programme set up to monitor the movement of basking sharks off our coast.

Twinning visit

Hi-tech electrics feed the power needs aboard the Lisa Jacqueline while she is undergoing a major refir alngside the North Quay......
after dropping off a crewman with a broken knee, Bruno, skipper of DLM's Concarneau (twinned with Penzance) registered Grand Saint Bernard eases her gently out towards the gaps under the watchful eye of Harbourmaster Andrew Munson....
his concern is that, at this state of the tide, she will only just have enough water to exit the harbour without touching the hard ground just off the gaps....
so there are an anxious few moments before he can relax as she heads towards the shallowest part of the entrance.....

safely away, she is passed up by the Dignity from St Ives bound in from a netting trip for red mullet.

Over the half-way line

A 'landmark' as it were in the voyage of the Spirit of Mystery - she has made it across the equator over the weekend! Read up on the celebrations aboard the boat from their web log.

There's more to it than just the fish and quotas

Patriotic and moralistic quota activist Grimmy Mike (Mike Mahon) makes the papers with a supportive article from Telegraph journalist Christopher Booker. The article provoked plenty of support and a number of interesting comments from online readers that reflect on the wider issues of sovereignty and control with regard to our 'Island State' and Europe.