Is Britain getting battered in the great fishing battle?

From bream trawlers caught illegally casting their nets in the Celtic Sea to activists patrolling the Mediterranean to tackle tuna boats in closed waters, few industries provide as much intrigue as fisheries.

Just last week, 40 French vessels encircled five British boats 20 miles off the coast of Normandy because they were trawling for scallops. The French sailors threw bricks and rocks at their trapped rivals.

The scallop scuffle is a result of domestic quotas, which prevent Frenchmen from catching the shellfish for several months a year to allow stocks to replenish. The same rules don't apply to the Brits, but UK fishing companies have fallen foul of the broader EU quota system and been fined as much as £100,000 for failing to declare their catches.

The EU's Common Fisheries Policy is up for renewal, with updated legislation expected in 2013. Next week, fisheries ministers meet to thrash out the plan, pitting lovers of the sustainable techniques promoted by celebrity chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall against those who want subsidies to maintain huge trawler fleets.

This skirmish doesn't just affect an ancient industry, which employed nearly 30,000 people in the UK in the Sixties, down to well under 15,000 today, but the price of the 300 million servings of fish'*'chips Brits tuck into each year.

For every 10 per cent increase in the stock of herring, haddock, or hake, there should be a 2 to 5 per cent decrease in the price of a fish supper, which, incidentally, went up by about 50p a portion last year.

At least 49 stocks, including blue whiting and plaice, are overfished in the north-east Atlantic. In September, a report by the New Economics Foundation found a cessation on fishing these species, from two months for mackerel to a little over nine years for certain types of cod, would replenish their numbers, and mean the catches would double in value from £130bn to £260bn over a 40-year period. That translates to 50 per cent more fish per Brit each year, from around 20kg consumed to 30kg. "Naturally, that would lend itself to a drop in prices," says the report's author, Rupert Crilly.

However, it seems unlikely that such a radical proposal will be endorsed, as many campaigners fear that the EU will continue a policy of pumping the vast majority of the ¤1bn (£800m) of annual subsidies into new boat engines or refits.

This, it is argued, simply encourages large-scale fishing and will further deplete the seas. Markus Knigge, an adviser to the Pew Environment Group, says: "What we want to see is this public money invested in replenishing fish stocks, but unfortunately politicians like to hand over money for big capital spends like vessels so they can show what they've done. Britain is, relatively, on the good side of this argument."

Environmental groups also claim that many subsidies are going to fishing companies that have been fined for breaking current legislation. Greenpeace campaigner Emma Gibson says: "It's sheer madness to give taxpayers' money to destructive, and sometimes even illegal, fishing operations when thousands of British inshore fishermen, who tend to fish sustainably and look after their patch, are struggling to keep their businesses afloat."

This fish fight, then, is more than a handful of mariners scrapping over scallops. Political posturing, national interests, and the Friday night supper are all at stake.

Story courtesy of Daily Telegraph Business.

Moroccan medley

When fish is the dish there's always huge interest from the resident feline population, Kevin and Perry...

with thanks to the Elisabeth Veronique, cuttlefish in tomato sauce kicks off the Moroccan theme...

followed by the main dish, a fish Jebli with home made harissa rubbed into the wings...

washed down with a suitable rouge liquid...

recent fishy meals have included the Sicilian soirée...

squid rings a la Locatelli...

pasta with minced pork and homemade Italian sausages...

cod fillets just love a tagine, keeps' em moist!

Last port of call.

Another Newlyn fishermen joins the customers of the big bar in the sky.

The Ballad of the Saltees Quest

Here's a little tune I threw together in Support of Jimmy Byrne & the crew of the Saltees Quest, who made a stand by landing fish that by some stupid law they would have had to dump at sea. This action put them in danger of legal proceedings against them. 
You'll notice I used the melody from an old Irish song called "The Golden Jubilee", but the lyrics are all my own.

Some vocal support for skipper Jimmy Byrne & the crew of the Saltees Quest, in deep water for defying EU rules on discarding fish at sea - 

Come on Maria! @MariaDamanakiEU

NOAA - a Teacher at Sea programme

It's not only Cefas that has joined the world of openness and fisheries research. The NOAA, our American Oceanic research fellows have a fantastic programme whereby a teacher from anywhere in the US is nominated to join every research trip. Maybe Cefas could run a similar programme in the UK aboard the Cefas Endeavour? Though there's a good chance that many fishermen would feel the industry best served if it was Politician at Sea programme! 

Here's the final entry from American teacher Kaitlin Bird who was lucky enough to be selected for a trip aboard the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow. 

"Last but NOT least, Did you know? According to the Guiness Book of World Records the American Lobster has been known to reach lengths over 3 ft (0.91 m) and weigh as much as 44 lb (20 kg) or more. This makes it the heaviest marine crustacean in the world! This one was pretty large!!

A big farewell to everyone on the Henry B. Bigelow! 

Thanks so much, I had a great time and learned a lot! Thanks for reading!

Coquilles St Jacques salvos of shells, scallop shells expended in a battle of words and rocks at sea on Monday.

The VesselTracker AIS gives a good indication of the small fleet of scallop dredgers still working in the area of the protests earlier this week.





Here's a French version of events (TV France3) in the Bay of Normandy earlier this week as French trawlers clashed with English and some big Scottish scallop fishing boats - the text below is Google's, hence the occasional odd trurn of phrase!

Forty fishing boats Lower Normandy decided to go to sea to meet the English vessels fishing off the Bay of Seine.

The explanation was verbal but muscular. French and British boats at sea deadweight Norman boats have this morning heading for the English ships, the ships that they would never see in their fishing area. For several weeks, the situation is tense between the shell fishermen of both countries. Lower Normandy fishermen have decided to take action and not wait until the situation is resolved in offices. A good forty French ships went to sea, off Ouistreham, to meet a dozen English and Scottish vessels.

Very quickly, the situation is tense invectives, bird names, obscene gestures. Fortunately, the battle was averted.  Fishermen on both sides were even able to speak more quiet boarding a boat. After two hours, the Norman fishermen are gone, but still angry, and with the feeling of being humiliated. Some have decided to return to fight with the English ... It is "ras-le-bol total," explained the French fishermen, who see in their eyes their "resources plundered" by the British. While they are working hard to preserve the resource, meet quotas and fishing dates.

Here's another view courtesy of the BBC from the skipper of the Vertouwen, a large Scottish scallop dredger.

A Scottish shellfish supplier has described how one of his boats was attacked by French fishermen. Andy Scott, of Dumfries-based Scott Trawlers, said the crew of the scallop boat Vertrouwen had feared for its safety during the incident.

He said it was attacked in the Bay de Seine, where it was permitted to fish. He said three French fishermen eventually boarded his vessel but the skipper had been able to satisfy them he was legally entitled to fish there.

Mr Scott said he would be looking for British Navy support after the Monday morning incident which reportedly involved a number of British boats. "About seven vessels came into very close quarters with the Vertrouwen and tried to stop it fishing," he said. "It tried to continue fishing at which time the French vessels started to attack with catapults, stones and nuts and bolts. "The crew feared for their safety, they feared that the wheelhouse windows were going to be broken."

He said the number of French boats then increased to about 30 and they tried to throw ropes and nets to snare the propeller on the Vertrouwen. Mr Scott sent another of his own boats and another Scottish vessel to "lend support" to the vessel. At that point three French fishermen boarded the Vertrouwen and spoke to the skipper. "He was able to satisfy them that he was legally entitled to fish there," said Mr Scott.

The Marine Management Organisation said the Vertrouwen was one of a number of UK vessels in the area at the time. A spokesperson said: "As soon as we were made aware of the situation we contacted the French authorities and encouraged them to intervene. "They did and are continuing to deal with this matter. "We are continuing high-level negotiations with our French counterparts to seek assurances that these issues will not recur."

This article in the Sun gets closer to the nub of the conflict - the French have a voluntary closed season for scallops in the area which starts on October the 1st - which is not recognised by vessels from the UK.

From the Sun:

A CLASH between British and French fishermen in the Channel over scallop beds has led to peace talks between marine officials.

Brit Anton Bailey told how his boat was attacked by a rival French vessel in a dispute over the lucrative scallop beds. The fisherman told how he was surrounded by a number of French fishing boats in international waters off the coast of Le Havre, northern France. He described how crew members pelted his boat with rocks, fired flares at it and even tried to ram it. Anton said: “They were just trying to stop us from our fishing activity. “They were shooting flares at other vessels, every underhanded thing you could think of. Then they threw rocks at us and tried to ram us. “I have never seen this before and I have been at sea 20 years.” A Maritime and Coastguard Agency spokeswoman confirmed an incident had been reported. She said: “We contacted the French Coastguard who sent a French patrol vessel to the area to monitor the situation, which we now believe has been resolved.” The spokeswoman said the agency had received no further reports of trouble since the incident on Monday. Jim Portus, from the South Western Fish Producers Organisation, said it was not the first time such an attack had happened in the waters where British and French fishermen fish for scallops. He said: “The French have a self-imposed closed season for the five months ending on 1 October. “Their fishermen weren’t exploiting the beds over the summer, but the British fishermen were this summer and have done in the past. Irish boats do too. It causes friction.” The Marine Management Organisation confirmed that, at the time, a number of UK vessels were in an area where they were allowed to fish. It said a large number of French vessels were close by.

Archie Donaldson - Admiral Gordon skipper

Archie, the ever popular skipper of the Admiral Gordon has died following a heart attack shortly after leaving the boat to go ashore in Torquay. 

Apart from that warm smile, his Facebook page says little, simply revealing him as being "interested in women".

Guaranteed to put a smile on your face within seconds of being in his company, Archie will be missed by a fishing community now without one of its most endearing characters.