Monday's mackerel day - in protest.

Pin boned mackerle fillets in olly oil........

on a high heat.........

served with fried bread Mediterranean style (in oil not dripping) and caulflower couscous with a lemon puree sauce - a Cornish variation using locally caught Cornish mackerel (in protest to Iceland's unilateral decision to set its own mackerel quota and ignore the current stock ICES stock estimates) to the cod used by the guest Icelandic chef, Agi Sverisson on last Saturday's Saturday Kitchen - the Best Bites.

Rolex Fastnet Yacht Race is on as they head round the corner.

Picked up on VesselTracker's AIS screen, nearly 300 race yachts make their way past Land's End on the outward leg of this year's Rolex Fastnet Yacht Race. This year's record entry saw the big French multihull Maxi Banque Populaire first to the Fastnet Rock at around 0930 this morning. At a more sedate pace, the bulk of the fleet hit the edges of Mount's Bay on their way to Land's End late in the afternoon with the wind conveniently backing SSW from the NW breeze earlier in the day.

A quiet start to the week, mainly top quality inshore fish on the market this Monday morning..

 One of many boxes from the inshore fleet who were busy over a weekend of fine weather.......

 and a good first trip for the Ajax now under new management.......

with a few boxes of huge 7+ kilo hakes ready to go up for auction......

 a box of big craws will no doubt be the centre piece at a number of good restaurants.......

 light before the auction started would have quickened the heart of Stanhope Forbes and Walter Langley for sure.......

 

 the old Cap'n Keast dugout has had a lick of paint it seems......

 making waves in the gaps.......

 and almost framed by two wild agapanthus, the beamer Chloe T  on the slip.......

 always worth stopping for, a steaming bowl of Jacki'es famous crab chowder........

 the figurehead at Matelot's cottage, she was apparently salvaged by Frank Dewar, from the ship Zaureena. Frank Dewar made miniature lobster pots to sell, and stuffed animals were found in the loft.........

 

 and a perfect day for it shaping up over in Penzance harbour.

Sun morning in Penzance.

Leaving Penzance early on Sunday morning to catch the tide 'going round the corner', the Padstow dredger Sand Snipe's dry dock refit is over so she heads back to her home port.......

to be followed by the first of the angling parties.......

passing the trainees aboard TS Victory.......

always a new scene on show at the......

PZ Gallery........

with seating provided in which to contemplate the contemplated......

another fish book, Fishy Fishy hits the shelves.......

hope that's not for me.......

a very nautical window in Mount's Bay Trading, Causewayhead.

Fishy Friday II - very much in season from Cornish beaches - Grey Mullet and ratatouille.

This time of year is good for grey mullet - especially those caught off the Scillies or Sennen beach as they are less 'muddy' than those fish that frequent estuaries......

if you are going to prepare the fish yourself rather than have the fishmonger do it for you, don't forget to remove the mullet's big scales - used a zester in this instance!......

the gut cavity should be clean and seasoned with salt and pepper......

select the veg to go with the dish.......

stone the black olives.......

prep the veg........

put half the chopped shallot and garlic and a piece of fennel in the gut cavity.......

cover with the sliced toms, olives and anchovies.......

wrap tightly with foil and bake for around 40 minutes at 170º.........

in this case a surfeit of veg meant that a tatty-rats was on the cards.......

plenty of olly oil.........

and voila!

Friday is fish day.

Abbey Warehouse apartments enjoy basking in the warm glow of the morning sun.....

as the cloud lifts from over Mount's Bay........

the weather was distinctly changeable......

as the cloud descended again in the space of minutes.....

the Medical launch dropped into Newlyn to take on board fuel.......

as the last Lyonesse landed her night's work.......

keeping the sardines well covered with ice.......

and sea water.......

before they are taken off to FalFish.......

with hake prices still on the floor, with even the larger grades of fish going for just over the £2 per kilo mark......

not so big turbot.......

or this fine tub gurnard specimen.........

the sky has that glassy look to it which generally means rain is on the way.......

some boats are doing a good job.......

other's like the Algrie won't be fishing for anything until the restoration work is completed.....

customer's at Tonkin's Fish Shop opposite the market can take advantage f some excellent prices on offer for a fishy Friday.

Cornish Sardines.

With the Cornish Sardine fishery in full swing the local fleet of rin netters are enjoying the occasional good shot of fish. At this time of year, the boats head out through the gaps around 9pm in the evening to search for the shoals of sardines. The tide, weather and activity of other predatory species like dolphins can make finding the fish marks to shoot their nets on a challenging task. In this short video, the latest boat to join the fleet, the White Heather has had a successful night's fishing and is landing an exceptional haul of around 20 tons. The fish are kept in top condition with the addition of slush ice, a mixture of sea water and ice.