Technology test - sprats ahoy!

Filmed on an iPhone 3G - a short test video of the White Heather landing two tonnes of sprats to the fish market at Newlyn. A film crew from BBC One's Countryfile programme had been shooting footage for a show due to be broadcast on February 26th - see their web site for more details nearer the time.

Cornish Sardines ahoy! - Countryfile goes to sea.

 Chef Sanjay Kumar chats on deck with Jules Hudson aboard the White Heather as she pulls into the quay at Newlyn.........

 with the BBC One Countryfile crew under the watchful eye of producer Jmaes filming every move......

 the laden boat comes alongside.......

 after catching Cornish Sardines on the previous trip, this evening's sortie produced.......

 two tonnes........

 of sprat.........

 which will no doubt be readily available on many Cornish wet fish counters today........

 they look delicious.......

 after landing the film crew, producer and Slowfood Cornwall champion chef Sanjay, watched  carefully by Jo Crow's Swordfish resident guard dog........

retired for a well-earned pint.

Cefas Endeavour - 24/7 survey work.

The "snow" is sediment in the water column that reflects the light from the lights on the camera frame as it flies past the camera

Looks like snow but is in fact sediment at 100m below the surface of the sea at the North of Celtic Deep in St George's Channel where the Cefas Endeavour is currently on station undergoing her MCZ Characterisation Survey 2012. 


The blog makes interesting reading this trip as there are two teams aboard the boat, the second being the JNCC Offshore survey team with their own blog to follow - the seagoing research blog wars are hotting up!

Howth RNLI lifeboat rescues ex-French Irish trawler north-east of Howth.

Video courtesy of Howth RNLI lifeboat.

Seven men were rescued by an RNLI crew in a dramatic rescue operation that took more than 10 hours at the weekend.

The crew of the Howth RNLI lifeboat battled a three-metre swell and force-six winds to tow a trawler to safety on Saturday night, as this dramatic picture from the RNLI shows. The 17m trawler was 58km north-east of Howth, Co Dublin, when it began to take on water.

A Coast Guard helicopter delivered a pump to the trawler as it was taken under tow. However, the rope snapped a number of times before the boats made it safely back at 10.30pm.

Wave Hub off Hayle attracts new customer.

Ocean Energy Limited, Ireland’s leading wave energy company, is working with Wave Hub, the world’s largest grid connected offshore marine energy test site, to deploy its technology at the site later this year. Cork-based Ocean Energy, in collaboration with its partner Dresser-Rand, one of the largest global suppliers of custom-engineered rotating equipment solutions, expects to deploy a full-scale device at Wave Hub by the end of this year having tested a quarter scale prototype of its OE Buoy in Galway Bay for three years.

Simple fish fry.

Take any firm white fish like cod, pollock, ling, haddock, whiting and fillet, skin and slice the fish into goujons........

coat with Panko (or homemade) breadcrumbs (not that ghastly orange stuff)........

shallow fry for a minute or so.......

great accompaniment to some pea and ham soup and bread of choice - with a little mayo on the side.

Plenty of herring? try an escabeche.

Plenty of herring coming ashore these days.........

though spent they are still tasty enough when filleted.........

in numbers........

coat with seasoned coarse polenta.......

and shallow fry in olly oil.......

poured over the fillets is the escabeche, gently cook red onion, currants and garlic for a few minutes then add diced carrot, marjoram and a bay leaf, small piece of cinnamon, allspice berries and a chopped green chili and a good pinch of brown sugar - once the currants have swollen and the carrot softened add chicken (or fish) stock and a dash of cider vinegar and bring to the boil..........

and poor over the cooked fillets leaving for half an hour to infuse.