'Tanzanian' tug detained after failing Newlyn port inspection

Juliette Pride alongside the quay in Newlyn.

The Juliette Pride I, which is owned by a Nigerian oil trader, was smuggled out of Newlyn in the dead of night this week.

The MCA has confirmed that the tug has "jumped detection" but said there was little that could be done once she entered international waters.

A tug flying a Tanzanian flag has been detained in Newlyn, one of nine foreign flagged ships under detention in UK ports during January after failing Port State Control inspection.

The Juliette Pride I was found to have seventeen deficiencies - ten of which gave the Maritime and Costguard Agency (MCA) grounds for detention.

The vessel was detained in Newlyn as the lifebuoys certificate had expired; lifejackets had lights missing and the HRU (Hydrostatic Release Unit) had expired; the certificates for endorsement by the flagstate was missing and the minimum safe manning document were not as required.

Gauzes on the fuel tanks air pipes were badly corroded and large boats and machinery were not secured on deck.

The navigation charts and lights were not as required and some hydrants did not have water available for fire fighting.

Other deficiencies identified included a lack of immersion suits; an expired safe manning document; full fore peak ballast tanks that had no means of pumping out to empty; a stability book and nautical publications not as required and an unhygienic store room.

Latest monthly figures show that there were six new detentions of foreign flagged vessels in UK ports during January and three vessels remained under detention from previous months.

The overall rate of detentions compared with inspections carried out over the last twelve months was 3.64 per cent, which is slightly up from December’s twelve month rate.

Out of the nine foreign flagged ships under detention, Juliette Pride I was the only one registered with a flag state on the Paris MOU black list.

Covering the ground like his fisherman father!

England vs Italy U20s at Northampton sees fishing family Exeter Chiefs' star Jack Nowell go over the line for the second try of the match. Vote for Jack in the LV breakthrough player of the year!

A quick tour round the fish market at Newlyn

A quick tour round the fish market on Thursday morning. Begins with fish from a couple of beam trawlers and the haddock from the Padstow gill netter Charisma. Moving through to the western end of the market pas the cuttles is the big trip of hake and white fish from the netter Ajax.

Technical info on the movie:

Filmed on a GoPro3HD Black edition camera as a trial - resolution 1920 X 1080 wide. The file was 2Gb straight out of the camera then 18Gb when converted. Quicktime was then used to output a file for the web at 62Mb.

Meet MEP Julie Girling at The Centre in Newlyn today at 3pm

MEP and Fisheries Committee member Julie Girling will be speaking to fishermen at the Centre in Newlyn today from 3pm. Take this opportunity to put your thoughts and comments directly to the person who represents the South WEst at the highest levels in Brussels.

See Julie's web site for more information and contact details - as your regional MEP, let her know how you feel - she is their to represent the fishing industry in the region - make use of her contacts and position!

Julie is a member of the EU Fisheries Council - here is her stance on the industry. If you have any thoughts or comments, let her know!

Save Our Seas

As a member of the Fisheries Committee, I am fully aware of the dreadful situation regarding discards and am working to make sure the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) brings to an end fisheries management rules which force fisherman to discard immature or out-of-quota fish or else face prosecution, which in many cases in unavoidable.

Of course, with the reform of the CFP due to take place one of the most important issues for our fisherman is to end the current discards debacle. This process results in 750,000 tonnes of healthy fish being dumped back into the sea annually in EU waters. The European Commission has recognised that fish discards must be brought to an end and the European Fisheries Commissioner, Maria Damanaki, has expressed her desire to end this preposterous activity.

However, the Commission has admitted it may take more than a decade to implement this policy. This is simply not good enough and we will work closely with skippers, fisheries managers, scientists, environmentalists and fellow members of the European Parliament to bring forward plans to replace the ludicrous rules.

In the South West we have a number of innovative practices amongst fisherman such as the Brixham Beam Trawlers where discards have been reduced by 50%. Commissioner Damanaki is very impressed with these results and has committed to review the CFP with small fisheries in mind

Watch Julie talking about 'The Big Fish Fight' HERE

Watch Julie discussing fisheries issues HERE


Fisheries and the ECR

Our manifesto commitments for Fisheries. We will:

• Fight for wholesale reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) to make it more efficient, and address the failings of the current policy. 
• Encourage sustainable practices so that they benefit both the environment and those whose livelihood depends upon the industry. 
• Give communities a greater say over the future of their fishing industries, enabling those with specific knowledge of the local fisheries sector to provide input into fisheries policy and take charge of their own local resources. 
• Bring an end to the scandal of fish discards. Take forward the marine and Coastal access act and ensure that its conservation measures are implemented effectively, including the creation of marine conservation zones. Firmly oppose any resumption of commercial whaling and do all we can to ensure that the international moratorium stays in place.

Real Fish Fighters!

Just felt I should highlight this story, this is whats happening to our industry which could be a great one we have taken a lot over the last 20 years and now its time to put a stop to the nonsense that we hear about our proud industry, we are fishermen, just like the farmer, oil worker, butcher, the airline pilot, lets see the young generation come to the job and fight to give them a good future at it, chaz Here is a photo of my son on his LAST trip at sea aged 16... 

From Martin Watt, skipper of the HeatherBelle

Got his first boiler suit aged 6, filling mending needles age 9 loved boats. Spent all his holidays at sea with me and could confidently work a powerblock and net drum in a gale age 15. Would've made a good fisherman, but who would encourage their only son to be a fisherman under the current circumstances... 

After many arguments I finally persuaded him to pursue a career in diesel engineering under the promise that he could come back after he had learned a trade... If the fishing is a worthwhile job??? 

This is the stock that is most under pressure... Fishing stock!!!!

Jpoin the battle and get your Real Fish Fight phone covers off eBay now!

Design you own? Or just dowload the SOF & RFF logos yourself!

• Chris Crosby There is a "design your own" phone cover offer on ebayhttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Design-Your-Own-Personalised-Photo-Case-iPhone-5-Any-Photo-Logo-/190734950787

  18 hours ago · Like
• 

  The Real Fish Fight Go onto to Ebay for phone cases for your particular phone.I saved the Real Fish Fight logos on my computer,ordered the phone covers,then emailed the seller with the logos.Theres plenty of them on Ebay,but the seller I got was "davegodan".Basic price per phone cover with 2nd class delivery was £7.50.Obviously the cost goes up if you want 1st class or express delivery postage.When you see phone covers costing £10-£15 in the shopping centres £7.50 I think is pretty good value.Allan.

  17 hours ago via mobile · Like · 4

Plenty fish in sea, new Scottish fishermen's group says

Davie Tait @DavieTait

sff.co.uk/node/712 do NOT believe a word HFW #fishfight says about Cod stocks,he is NOT qualified to comment,#trawlermen #hughLIES

The new pressure group says cod stocks are healthy Continue reading the main story Related Stories

Iceland dismisses mackerel sanctions Mackerel stalemate holding strong Fishing leaders welcome 'reform' A group of Scottish fishermen have formed a pressure group to convince people that North Sea fish stocks are healthy.

The Real Fish Fight said boats have reported large catches of cod.

Peterhead skipper Peter Bruce said conservationists wanted to turn the North Sea into an aquarium.

WWF Scotland said it was possible the big catches were the result of boats passing over large groups of spawning cod.

Mr Bruce said there was scaremongering over fish stocks.

He recently hauled his largest ever catch of cod - 30 tonnes in a single net.

The fisherman said: "There is some of the green lobby that is actually trying to finish the fishing industry.

"They are wanting the North Sea left as an aquarium and we just can't have that."

He added: "We would like the scientists to come out with us and see what we are seeing on the grounds."

WWF Scotland said at this time of year cod were grouping in large numbers to spawn.

A spokeswoman said it could be that the large catch was made in one of these areas and that this could not be read as a sign that numbers of the fish had recovered.

Story courtesy of the BBC North Sea cod figures backed by the scientific evidence
Published: 07 March, 2013


From the Real Fish Fight site more information backed up by scientific evidence refutes the WWF Scotland statement that maybe the boats were in fact hitting groups of spawning cod!

Reports from Scottish fishermen of a huge abundance of cod in the North Sea is a direct result of a dramatic decline in fishing effort combined with the introduction of a number of conservation initiatives by the fishing fleet, says the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF).

With dramatic video footage being aired on some TV news bulletins today, Thursday, showing a large haul of cod being taken aboard the fishing vessel Budding Rose in the North Sea, the SFF says the scientific evidence is also backing the experience of fishermen on the fishing grounds. The skipper of the vessel, Peter Bruce, said that when the film was taken he was 20 miles away from the closed (to fishing) cod spawning area and was actually fishing for haddock.
He added: “I was in contact with another skipper who was 75 miles away having similar experiences and he had to land 10 tons of cod to Peterhead from his trip. The recovery in the cod stock is not by any means patchy."

According to Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics, the amount of fishing effort by the Scottish fleet has declined by a massive 70% between 2000 and 2011. Furthermore, the latest scientific figures from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) reveals that the spawning stock biomass of North Sea cod has increased by 250% from 2006 to 2012. Fishing mortality for cod (or the amount of fish being taken out of the sea) has declined by 43% between 2000 and 2011.

Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the SFF, said: “The decline in fishing effort and the amount of cod being taken out of the North Sea is quite dramatic and helps explain the relative abundance of fish that our fishermen are now finding on the grounds.

“It should not be forgotten that fishermen have made huge sacrifices over the last 10 years or so to reach this stage. The number of fishing vessels has dramatically declined and there have been strict effort controls as well. In addition, we have developed our own measures such as technical alterations to nets to significantly reduce discards and implementing real-time area closures to protect juvenile and spawning fish.

“In essence, our fishermen are by regulation taking much longer to catch much less fish, which has been achieved against a background of high operating costs. The important step now is to ensure that fishermen are rewarded for this increasing stock of cod and other fish through enhanced catching opportunities in the future. Survival of the fishing communities will depend on this.

“However, this must be achieved through careful fisheries management based on the science so as to ensure the continuation of sustainable harvesting that enables the stock to prosper. Our fishermen completely understand this - but given the cycle of time it takes for scientific data collection and analysis, the recovery actually occurs before official recognition. This first detection of increased fish abundance is made by the men at sea - the fishermen. Every effort is now being made to incorporate this early warning that fishermen can provide on stocks - which would equally apply if any stock was declining - into the scientific assessment process.

“With the horse-meat scandal and other food scare stories being prominent in the media at the moment, the recovery of cod and other fish stocks in the North Sea is a good news story for the consumer. Scottish fish is an extremely high quality food product that has a low carbon footprint and is healthy to eat. Our resounding message to consumers is to demand from retailers and restaurants more Scottish fish."

Watching points