MC, Mike Collier - Mr MCA and Master of Ceremonies amongst other things is now retired - sort of!

Mike Collier has been the port's public face of the MCA for the last 14 years...

Mike Collier - and his clipboard in hand

- not a job likely to garner friends easily as he had the unenviable task of carrying out the never popular but oh-so-necessary dreaded 'DTI' (the nautical equivalent of the MOT) on the local fleet - and many of the rules are written to apply to all vessels so when it comes to things like fireproofing floor and door regulations on boats where even a small fire would necessitate abandoning ship rather than trying to fight the fire boat owners get a tad hot under the collar - many years ago, a previous incumbent of the post made George Lawry, owner of the 55' Sea Eagle remove a wooden ladder from the engine room and replace it with a steel set of steps - given that the engine room deckhead was low enough to have to bend down all the time and that the steps out of the engine room were all of 6 treads seemed excessive to him - George protested loudly - he wanted to know how long did he think that anyone would actually stay alive in an engine room with a fire in it - and that if there was a fire he was damned sure he could ascend a set of very heavy wooden steps even if they were on fire themselves - not so a set of steel steps which would surely be totally impossible to climb! - the DTI surveyor insisted and the steps were fitted - almost the first time they were used George slipped on them and gashed his shin - a year later and his shin still required treatment - even the benign person that George was even he found it difficult not to feel a great loathing towards the DTI and its willingness to apply 'big ship' rules on tiny fishing vessels without any taking into account any practical assessment of risk - so Mike Collier managed for the best part to apply the rules for the overall benefit of Newlyn's mighty fleet of fishing boats without...

Mike Collier talks to BBC Radio Cornwall's Donna Birrell.

apart from the MCA, Mike is a trustee for the local branch of the RNMDSF and Mission - he is heading up the team looking to find a new owner sympathetic with the needs of the port and the Mission building...

and of course he is the leading light in putting together and running the annual Newlyn Fish Festival on the day...

Mike Collier with Caroline Quentin opening the 2012 Fish Festival

the port's hugely popular annual summer celebration of all things fishy.

Monday's busy market

End-to-end with fish this morning...

and sure signs of summers as the boxes of JDs begin to mount in number week on week...

that big, bad bass man Cap'n Cod put ashore 8 boxes of beautiful fish after an intense weekend's fishing...

while some of the netters are still totally turboting...

along with a few of the UK's most sustainable fish, the happy hake...

yet another scalloper this time the Katy May is in town all the way from Brixham...

classic hull graces the port.

Tales of Irish fishing bygone times - what about the discards!

A collection of Old fishing films from mark hardy on Vimeo.

Saturday sees a sunnyish start to the season for scallops and sails

Sailing day for the netters like the Ajax making her way to the Low Lee buoy...

there's a drastic change of colour for the Ocean Pride...

looking very smart though...

in the morning sun...

time for the port's oldest inhabitant to get...

some summer love...

as the bigger yachts pour into the marina berths heralding the start of the serious sailing season...

joining the local fleet are the seasonal scallopers... 

many from the next port up the line...

Falmouth...

there's a new batch of boxes waiting to go aboard the big netter Stelissa.

Swanage by the sea

Sails and casting from the beach, classic seaside fun in Swanage...

when it's not sunny enough for the deckchairs to come out to play.

Work in progress

A few days in Swanage mean the chance to work on the Cornish sardines painting.

Cork Fisherman Calls For Seal Cull - YoughalOnline.com

Fisherman Barry Clohessy from Youghal, Co Cork, Ireland is outraged with the Department of Marine for ignoring the seal damage to his livelihood. Seals are a protected species in this country but the damage they are doing to nets and the living of the local fishermen is shocking.

Since 2007 Salmon fishing has been banned in these parts because stocks were down. Now the seals that used to feed on the salmon in the nets are now moving inshore and attacking the monkfish caught in the nets.

"The seals are ruining inshore fishing," says Barry "they are feeding on monkfish, pollack and any kind of whitefish because of the ban on salmon fishing. The seals used to feed on the salmon in the nets but it wasn't so bad then, as there were other fish in the sea, so to speak."

With a lot of the fish being eaten by seals these days, most fishermen are left with no choice but to fish for lobsters, which has lead to the drop in prices where at one time they were getting €17 a kilo now they are only getting €10!" Barry adds "I reckon they should be a cull on the seals, like they do in other countries, in my mind that is the only solution. If I were a farmer and a dog attacked my herd I would have a right to shoot the dog but we are not allowed to touch the seals as they are protected. How is a man to feed his family?"

Out of the 51 monkfish that Barry caught that day, only 7 were whole while the remaining had only their heads left because of the seals that ravaged their bodies.

Video: Michael Hussey