What price fish?

Morrab Library, one of the few, large independent libraries left in England has just been willed £600,000 by a local resident. Started in 1818, the library is adjacent to Penzance School of Art, the oldest art school in the country - booking are being taken for summer courses now - your chance to learn from local artsists making use of the famous west Cornwall light.......

a big heavy swell and onshore winds have left the beaches in Mount's Bay covered in seaweed, no doubt in Brittany hundreds would have flocked to the water's edge armed with bags for a free supply of garden manure.......

one week on and the damage to the prom has yet to be made good - or even cleared, times must be hard for the council.....

the buoy has escaped from its mooring again........

a single line of boxes on one end of the market, no beam or trawl fish today........

and just a handful of boxes at the netter end of the market......

from the Ajax, prices should be good........

basking in the glow of the morning sun. Jean Cabot's, Matthew......... 

with the crew taking advantage of the good drying weather to get some hatch covers painted up.......

one of the prettier sterns in the harbour today........

as ever, the Bay was treated to a display of moody lighting effects.......

maybe someone knows something we don't..........

must be a few boats to choose from - see the for boats sale page.......

Mr and Mrs herring gull, even in the sea bird world it seems it's the male that does all the DIY......

just waiting for something to happen.......

or a sign even.......

out to sea looks like it's henting down out there!

Countdown to summer - Rocket Gardens winging their way to a you!

Here's a novel idea, deliverd to your doorstep - an instant garden of summer vegetable delights to go with your fresh Cornish fish.....

 

for more information, don your virtual wellies and visit Rocket Gardens for bags more green goodies.

'Obby 'Oss! Tiz May Day in Padstow

No doubt this familiar fishing face will be gracing his home town of Padstow for the May Day celebrations - but what will he be wearing this year? A free TtG print for the first person who sends in a photo of young Mr Coutsoubus in action today!

MMO to send fishing licence variations by email and text alerts - but will it work asks local fisherman?

The MMO are currently set to introduce "e-notices" or electronic notification of changes to licence variations in England. The letter below was part of the consultation process carried out earlier this year in a bid to cut the amount of irrelevant paperwork generated and sent to fishermen around the English coast. TtG is not sure if this letter From the MMO inviting feedback was sent to all fishermen in England.

"We propose to replace the issue of paper variations with electronic notices of variation to all fishing vessel licences in England by publishing the notices on the MMO website. Licence holders, or their nominees, will be notified in advance via email or sms text message alerts of any changes to be made to their licence and they can then view the licence variation on the MMO website. The front page of the licence will still be issued as a paper document, as is current practice, and must be made available for on board inspection.


This informal consultation (England only) sets out policy proposals for introducing a system of electronic notification of variations to fishing licences in England which will replace the current system of paper variations. EU legislation requires that all commercial fishing vessels must have a valid fishing licence and authorisation. In England, fishing licences and their variations are currently issued in paper format and must be produced on request to Enforcement Officers during inspection. This is a costly, resource intensive and time consuming process for the Marine Management Organisation and fishermen. The intention is to amend The Sea Fishing (Licences and Notices) Regulations 1994 No. 2813 to allow for the introduction of an electronic system of notifying licence variations. We aim for this to take effect on 6 April 2012. The new system will be implemented and administered by the Marine Management Organisation once the Licence Order has been amended. Licence variations will be published on the MMO website. Licence holders, or their nominees, will be notified in advance via email or sms text message alerts of any changes to to their licence and can then view the variation on the MMO website. The front two pages of the licence will still be issued as a paper document, as is current practice, and must be available for on board inspection."

The table below (identified during the consultation period) indicates the amount of money the new system will save tax payers.

Covering the story on their breakfast show, BBC Radio Cornwall spoke to Newlyn trawler skipper Tom McClure about the changes and then defra spokesperson, Nick Wright gave his response to questions regarding the implementation of the scheme.

PFA condems action of Greenpeace over fishing in west African waters

This is the PFA's response to the action taken by Greenpeace to highlight EU subsidised fishing effort by some of the world's largest trawlers working off the west coast of Africa - mainly Mauritanian and Senegalese waters.


The Pelagic Freezer-trawler Association (PFA) condemns the dangerous actions of Greenpeace in the waters off Mauritania targeted against member vessels of the PFA. The use of small inflatable boats in the Atlantic Ocean far from shore to harass our vessels puts Greenpeace staff at great risk and is reckless. As a matter of fact, the PFA embraces the importance of sustainable fishing and has been committed to effective fishery management in this region for years. In addition, PFA fishers have only a limited presence in this fishing area. 


On an annual basis, an average of 50 international freezer-trawlers are active in Mauritanian waters, focusing on small pelagic fish stocks. 30 to 35 of these trawlers originate from countries such as Russia, China, Korea, and Belize. Of the 17 to 20 EU licences available, the PFA uses 6 to 7 annually. The PFA fleet fishes exclusively for human consumption. The fish caught is intended for the people with limited purchasing power in West-Central African countries, and the PFA has the required logistic and distribution infrastructure at its disposal to achieve this. Recently and to a rapidly increasing degree, ships operating under the Mauritanian flag are also catching pelagic fish for the production of fish meal. However, this fish meal is sold outside Africa and goes to countries with a large fish farming sector such as China.


In view of the size of the total fleet, it is imperative that the Mauritanian government manages the pelagic fisheries more effectively. The EU can fulfil a decisive role here, under the terms of the bilateral agreement.


The current EU agreement with Mauritania comes to an end in mid-2012. The PFA strongly presses the European Commission to include the implementation of an effective fishery management system as a core element of negotiations with the Mauritanian government. Furthermore, the PFA expects the European Commission to make an active commitment to improve pelagic fishery management at regional level for the whole of North-West Africa (CECAF area). A clear role is also reserved for the European Union to develop the infrastructure that will make it possible for a pelagic logistic hub to be established in Mauritania. The primary focus here is on harbour facilities - and everything else involved - with the aim of using Mauritania as a base to provide the African hinterland with healthy cheap protein originating from pelagic fish.


The PFA aims to fish in a responsible manner in the waters in which it is active. Accordingly, members of the PFA choose to fish sustainably and to make an active contribution to research into fish stocks and innovative, selective methods of fishing. In addition, the PFA is emphatically committed to international and European agreements for good fishery management. So much so that the members of the PFA that have been active for more than a century, will be able to continue for at least the next 100 years.


The PFA is striving to achieve an active dialogue with the scientific community, national and international governments and NGOs seeking partnership. Only this dialogue between the fishery sector, scientists, managers and NGOs has been globally proven to achieve effective fishery management.


See the Greenpeace video and Guardian article that prompted this response from the PFA. See the PFA web site here:

Domestic Fisheries Management Reform

As of today from defra:

Domestic Fisheries Management Reform 


 Fisheries play an important role in providing food, jobs, wealth and social/cultural benefits, particularly in some coastal communities. The small scale (under 10m) fleet has failed to thrive under successive management regimes, and it faces major challenges. Specifically, the current regime has encouraged an imbalance between capacity and fishing opportunities, putting pressure on smaller businesses and contributing to overcapacity, overcapitalisation and low profitability across the fleet. 


Latest news on pilot community quota groups 


As part of the Government’s plans for domestic fisheries reform, three voluntary pilot quota management groups are to go ahead to test the impact of a more local approach to quota management. These will be based in the ports of Lowestoft, West Mersea and Ramsgate. 


These groups are currently working closely with the Marine Management Organisation to meet certain recognition criteria with the aim of taking on full quota management responsibilities from 1 May 2012, supported by three Coastal Liaison Officers (CLOs).


Three additional groups that have chosen not to take on local quota management responsibilities hope to continue to work together for marketing and development purposes and achieve many of the secondary objectives set for the quota management pilot groups.


The three pilots will generate invaluable information on whether or not the local collective management of annual quota allocations by groups of fishermen can be effective and generate added benefits for the members of those groups. Information from these pilots could play a critical role in our journey towards fundamental reform in placing English inshore fisheries on a sustainable footing, along with the rest of the fleet. The attached information note contains more details about the pilots groups, including how quota has been allocated to them, and the realignment of consistently unused quota to increase the under-10m pool. 


Full defra page here:


Information note on pilot community quota groups and realignment of unused quota (PDF)

NNE 8-9 gusting 10

Lift-off for a pair of blackbacks as they head off to greet an inbound boat.......

given a good start by the wind which according to the data printout from the Sevenstones lightship has now reached 45 knots.......


From Crystal Sea III viia Twitter, 
"NNE 8-9 gusting 10 a bit of a punch back to Newlyn to say the least, speed down to half due to the sea state. landing later on"

head-to-wind, the Crystal Sea III makes her way in past three ships at anchor, driven in to take shelter rather than punch their way round Land's End.......

 in these squally conditions, heavy rain and poor visibility to boot.......

the guys on deck with heavy weather gear look pleased to have made it through the gaps.......

and are greeted to the welcome sight and the return of the replica of Jean Cabot's Matthew laying alongside the Cameron.........

after sailing round the Lizard from Falmouth last night - she was planning to do some short trips around the Bay over the next few days - contact the Matthew's web site or pop down to the boat and ask in person - skipper Rob Salvidge has recently been elected on to the board of Newlyn Harbour Commissioners so you could catch up with all the latest news there while their web site is in a state of limbo........

weather-bound fleet crowd the new quay and, although the inner harbour looks calm enough........

that NE bereeze is forcing its way through the fish market.