The thorny discard question, debate and debacle - a must be read.

Discards won't go away - but what are 'discards' - a term that any journalist or reporter covering the fishing industry needs to be more than familiar with if they are to pass comment, judgement or assess the actions of the industry.

If the the nature and use of the term discards was straightforward then much of the recent interest in and around the industry would not have caused such angst within the fishing community at alrge. Hugh's FishFight for instance, would be seen as a right and proper case and good cause for taking action at the highest level - EU CFP reform even. Unfortunately, discards apply to any and all fish that do not meet the requirements of a fishing operation - through quota restrictions, MLS (minimum landing size) requirements or market demand and therein lies the rub. This Seafish article begins the debate and provides links to the most recent articles covering the natuire of discards and should be compulsory reading for those not closely acquainted with what falls out of the cod end and on to the deck.
Discard dilemma photos:

Prawn trawling in the mud of the Smalls.

Scad by the ton when white fish trawling - if there were no discards would you keep these aboard - given that you could fill the fish room in a few days or even less?

Beam trawling - juvenile and under MLS fish, not that many but enough to fill many boxes in an otherwise small fishroom.

Heart failure and how to avoid it - eat more baked or broiled fish - simple.

Fish Intake and the Risk of Incident Heart Failure: The Women's Health Initiative



Corresponding author; email: dlj@northwestern.edu

Abstract: Background—Whether fish or the fatty acids they contain are independently associated with risk for incident heart failure (HF) among postmenopausal women is unclear.

Methods and Results—The baseline Women's Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI-OS) cohort consisted of 93,676 women aged 50-79 of diverse ethnicity and background of which 84,493 were eligible for analyses. Intakes of baked/broiled fish, fried fish and omega-3 fatty acid (eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) + docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), α-linolenic acid (ALA)), and trans fatty acid (TFA) were determined from the WHI food frequency questionnaire. Baked/broiled fish consumption was divided into 5 frequency categories: <1/mo (referent), 1-3/mo, 1-2/wk, 3-4/wk, ≥5/wk. Fried fish intake was grouped into 3 frequency categories: <1/mo (referent), 2) 1-3/mo, and 3) ≥1/wk. Associations between fish or fatty acid intake and incident HF were determined using Cox models adjusting for HF risk factors and dietary factors. Baked/broiled fish consumption (≥5 servings/wk at baseline) was associated with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.70 (95% CI: 0.51, 0.95) for incident HF. In contrast, fried fish consumption (≥1 serving/wk at baseline) was associated with a HR of 1.48 (95% CI: 1.19, 1.84) for incident HF. No significant associations were found between EPA+DHA, ALA, or TFA intake and incident HF.


and the bottom line is.........


Conclusions—Increased baked/broiled fish intake may lower HF risk, while increased fried fish intake may increase HF risk in postmenopausal women.

Hot off the press - A Book of the Night back from the printers.

Click to enjoy A Book of the Night.

England and Wales under 10m news - now it's over to you to manage your fish quotas!

If DEFRA proposals are given the go ahead then there will be major changes to the way <10m fishermen operate from next year including managing their own fish quotas.

Jerry Percy, Chief Executive to the New Under Tens Fishermen’s Association, (NUTFA) the representative body for inshore fishermen in England and Wales said, “NUTFA are committed to ensuring that fishermen around the coast, whether over or under ten, members or otherwise are fully informed of the proposals and have a chance to respond. We are touring the main ports (itinerary below) to speak with fishermen in this respect. Each venue will open at 2pm and fishermen, under and over ten, members or not, are invited to drop in to discuss the proposals with NUTFA staff and then contribute to a larger debate at 6pm."
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“It is absolutely vital that fishermen attend their local venue and contribute to the report that NUTFA will present to Government at the conclusion of the consultation. The DEFRA proposals will change the way that fishermen operate and they must have their say, it’s their future.” Defra will also provide staff at most of the meetings to answer specific questions.

The Dates and Venues (All 2pm – 8pm) are:


· Thursday 26th May – Thurrock: The Village Hall, High Street, Aveley,
· Friday 27th May- Aldeburgh: The Church Hall, next to Aldeburgh's St Peter and Paul Church, Victoria Road, Aldeburgh, Suffolk
· Tuesday 31st May – Amble: Fourways2, 6 Dilston Terrace, Amble, NE65 0DT
· Wednesday 1st June – Hartlepool: Borough Hall, Constables Lounge, The Headland, Hartlepool
· Thursday 2nd June – Scarborough: Scarborough Sea Cadets HQ, East Sandgate, Scarborough Sea Front, (adjacent to the ‘Newcastle Packet’)
· Friday 3rd June – Wells Next the Sea The Golden Fleece, The Quay, Wells next the Sea
· Monday 6th June – Padstow: National Lobster Hatchery, South Quay, Padstow, PL28 8BL
· Tuesday 7th June – Newlyn: Fishermen’s Mission, Ship Institute, North Pier, Newlyn, Penzance TR18 5JB
· Wednesday 8th June – Mevagissey: Mevagissey Social Club, Jetty Street, Mevagissey, St Austell, PL26 6UH
· Thursday 9th June – Plymouth: Plymouth Fish Market Auction Room
· Friday 10th June – Seaton: Seaton Social Club @ Wilstons, Beach Road, Seaton, Devon EX12 2LZ
· Monday 20th June – Hastings: East Hastings Sea Angling Association, The Stade, Hastings
· Tuesday 21st June – Shoreham (Venue to be confirmed)
· Wednesday 22nd June – Poole: Arndale Court Hotel, 62-66 Wimborne Road, Poole BH15 2BY
· Thursday 23rd June – Whitehaven (venue to be confirmed)
· Friday 24th June – Blackpool (Venue to be confirmed)

Scallop bonanza as was turns into an art form - Fish Factory Art Space.

Those who were around in the mid-70s may well remember the scalloping bonanza in Falmouth (some of the protagonists were the Sea Eagle - LT363, Forelle of Purbeck - P600, Guiding Star CN96)- especially the summer of '76 when those who slaved away on deck shovelling dredge loads of scallops prayed for rain or at least some sort of breeze to cool them down - will no doubt recall that many of their scallops ended up at the scallop packing plant on Falmouth Wharf.

Things are different now and this coming Bank Holiday weekend will see the grand opening of the latest Art Space to grow from an unused or abandoned building in the county. The Fish Factory Art Space will provide a huge working space for contemporary Cornish artists and a public gallery. The opening night sees the wraps come off the canvases at 6pm Saturday May 28th along with a free drink and an invite to see the work of  Diggy Smerdon, Sophie Capron and Martiens Bekker and inspect the working gallery space.

View Fish Factory Art Space in a larger map

Murder enquiry after man recovered from Mount's Bay.

At around 1000 hours today, Tuesday, 24 May 2011, Police were called to at an area at the back of St Michael's Mount by HM Coastguard after receiving a report of an incident involving two men in a small boat which was being monitored by the Penzance NCI watch station.

On arrival, a man was recovered from the water. He was taken to hospital at Treliske by Police helicopter. Police can confirm this man is now dead.
A forensic post mortem is being carried out later this afternoon.

A man has been arrested and remains in police custody on suspicion of murder and is being held at Camborne police station.

Detective Inspector Costa Nassaris said: “We were called to an incident this morning in Mount's Bay where a body was recovered from the water. We can confirm that this man has died and we’re conducting a post mortem today to establish the cause of death. We currently have a man in police custody at Camborne, being held on suspicion of murder.

“I must stress that this is the early stages of a murder investigation and our job now is to piece together events leading to this incident. We’re also in the process of identifying and informing the next of kin. Right now, I’m unable to share any further information with you but hope to have a further update for you tomorrow.”

Yacht Black Sheep - Falmouth coordinate rescue from satellite alert - again!

As BBC Scotland reports winds over 100mph across region.........

Last 24 hours from weather buoy 6406 off Scotland showing waves reaching nearly 20 feet - no place for a 26' yacht!

BBC video footage shot from the SAR 102 helicopter which was subsequently taken out of service to have volcanic ash removed.

In the early ours of the morning FGC picked up a satellite transmission from an EPIRB that did not give its position. The staff at Falmouth trawled their records and found that the boat was a 26' English yacht (ironically named, Black Sheep - given the ash cloud descending over Scotland at the moment) on a four month voyage to the Outer Hebrides. The vessel was located between the Shetland and Faroes Island in atrocious weather conditions and a SAR helicopter from Kinloss dispatched to the scene. The solo skipper of the boat was having comms problems in the severe weather according to the the Kirkwall lifeboat which was dispatched to escort the boat to safety in Westray, Orkney Islands .

This article appeared in support of Falmouth's work in yesterday's Guardian.