African Voices heard in Newlyn and now the world.

During the African Voices tour, three West African fishermen came to the UK to reveal the harsh reality behind our hunger for fish: while their communities rely on the seas for vital protein, our industrial-sized European fishing fleets are pillaging their waters, leaving little fish to make a living from - let alone feed their families.

For the UK leg our intrepid trio of fisherfolk leaders - Issa, Celestino and Abdou - took their stories to the Houses of Parliament, Billingsgate Fish Market, Selfridges' Project Ocean, plus met fellow small scale fishermen in Newlyn, Cornwall.

The video  follows the three's journey and gives chance for them to tell the shocking truth behind Europe's incessant over fishing.

Barra Brenn update.

Stern view of the Barra Brenn with the net in question on her net drum.

A fine of £13,500 was the result of the Narra Brenn's appearance in court this week. The main problem for the skipper was that the diameter of twine used in the codend was deemed to be too thick, thereby reducing the mesh size. This was a brand new codend from the factory and no doubt Art Bigouden will be taking the matter further.

As a highly respected trawl manufacturing company, Art Bigouden are not in the business of making gear that will land fishermen like the skipper of the Barra Brenn in court, so they will no doubt be looking very closely into how this resulted in what would appear to be a very unfortunate incident.

ENTRE_NOUS : Pêche en pays bigouden by hdzprod

This video chronicles a trip (maree) aboard the Entre Nous - a similar vessel to the Barra Brenn. The codend is that part of the net at the end of the trawl - where all the fish (and aboard this boat, langoustine as well) end up as the trawl is towed along the sea bed. The video clearly shows the cramped conditions in which the crew handle the gear, especially when mending the trawl netting (which happens all too often on a trawler) ona heaving deck and when the catch is gutted, washed and put down below in the fishroom.

There is surely a big difference between those who set out to deliberately flout the law and those who find themselves on the wrong side through circimstances beyond their control - every fisherman must feel that they already suffer from a good deal more regulation over and above those in other industries - monitored at sea by warship, plane and satellite, required to fill out the EU logbook on an almost hourly basis all while safely navigating a small vessel amongst today's heavily congested shipping lanes - and that's before they even think about actually catching any fish!

Bisque and Barra Gwen.

There are plenty of variations on the classic Bisque recipe - but this simple thick soup is a great way to make use of the leftover shells from crab, langoustine and spider crab (lobster, velvet crab and crayfish too) - after sweating finely chopped onion, celery, carrot and a bayleaf in 3oz of butter and the broken shells (bash them down further with the end of a rolling pin) and add a shot of brandy and allow it to evaporate then add 4oz of toms, a dash of tom puree and a glass of dry vermouth (Shiaohsing or white wine will do) and reduce for a while before adding 4oz of rice 2.5 pints of fish or chicken stock (avoid using stock cubes for this classic dish!) - add a good pinch of cayenne pepper and bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes before using a blender to liquidize the shells.........

if your blender is not up to the task then make the best job possible breaking down the shells with the rolling pin in the early stages.......

 and pass the cooling soup through a sieve or conical strainer - pressing the liquid through the sieve with the back of a wooden spoon.......

after straining, add 4fl oz of cream or crème frâiche and give a quick whiz........

simply serve with white or brown bread and butter - barra gwen or barra brenn - and a squeeze of lemon - magnifique!

Brown bread in hot water - undersize net!

The skipper of the Guilvenec registered trawler, Barra Brenn (Breton for Brown bread- one of several in the Bread fleet) was in court for allegedly fishing with undersize mesh in his trawl........

the skipper is none too pleased as the trawl in question was brand new straight from the manufacturers, obviously bought on the assumption that the net would conform to the legal mesh size requirements.

Singing with the boys - Fishermen's Friends on IT tonight!

Good news one and all The Fisherman’s Friends ITV documentary will be shown on 15th June at 10.35pm

“The story of the Cornish shanty singers, whose debut album Port Isaac’s Fisherman’s Friends reached the UK top 10 in 2010, tracing their rise from obscurity to national prominence. In addition to following them as they visit London for a series of concerts and TV appearances, the film explores how their close bond has been affected by the pressures of performing and demands of travelling hundreds of miles to venues around the country.”

Weedy Wednesday

Onshore winds in the Bay would have been seen as fortuitous years ago bringing local farmers down on the beach with their horses and carts collecting a summer harvest of free fertiliser - no doubt there are several laws that could be broken if such a thing were attempted today.......

just the one boat's fish on one end of the market......

while at the western end a good sized monk awaits the auctioneer's shout.......

along with a matched pair......

Nova Spero, on the turbot at the moment, but will she be putting up her tuna poles in the next few weeks?.........

a delicacy, selection of good monk cheeks, possibly Chelsea bound...........

some sort of harbour serpent on the move........

they don't come more immaculate than this, something of a show boat from the Nederlands, the steel barge, Nadim.........

with a counter stern all set for a few shady Pimms.......

with plenty of room inboard in weather like today - pure Cornish mizzle........

slip time for the Govenek of Ladram.........

more classic boats on the pontoon berths, the wooden yacht, Capraia.......

and travelling companion, Yvette.........

viewed from the waterline........

variation on the parlour pot theme aboard the St Ives boat, Midnight Express.

Langoustine lesson.

Time to take advantage of the boats and their summer range of shellfish landings - you'll need a pick for the spider crab and a few tips to make getting that succulent meat extracted from those Dublin Bay Prawn (langoustine) tails.......... 

after putting the whole langoustine into salted boiling water for not more than three minutes whip them out on a plate and allow everyone at the table the fun of picking their own tail meat - first step is to hold the whole langoustine upside down as in the picture above, with the finger and thumb of the left hand firmly squeezing the first segment, rock the tail with the right hand from side to side - crack-crack...........

with the thumb of the right hand, press down on the inside of the tail - this will help release the tail meat........

still holding the head by the first segment, pull of the tail shell from the head leaving the meat intact...........

for those who enjoy not missing out all the goodness on offer, use a pick to remove the carapace contents (or, in good company, just suck them clean)........

best keep an eye on the table as the spread is irresistible to all it seems.