Ironic ale launched to support the mission

A new ale has been brewed to raise money for the Fishermen’s Mission charity.

Photo courtesy of the Cornishman

Ten pence of every pint sold of Sharp’s Brewery’s Honey Gold will go towards supporting fishermen and their families in hard times.

The new limited release beer is a golden ale at 4.2% ABV and flavoured with aromatic US hops and a subtle combination of ginger and honey.

It is now available on draught in trade outlets across both South West and South East regions with newly designed pump clips created to raise awareness of the charity.

Sharp’s brand manager James Nicholls, said: “Earlier this year we saw terrible weather conditions really impact local businesses here in Cornwall, with many of our customers affected.

“Being proud of our roots and home here in Cornwall we’re always looking at ways to support the community, so this was a great opportunity for us to do so.”

“Last year we raised more than £12,500 for the Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust with our Sharp’s Own, Special and Cornish Coaster – we’re hopeful to build on this success with our Honey Gold promotion and provide some much needed relief to affected fisherman.”

For more information about the work of the Fishermen’s Mission visit www.fishermensmission.org.uk

Read the full story here form the Cornishman 

Amazing resource - streaming live video research via satellite at sea!

The American research ship Nautilus streams live video feeds from four cameras while it is undertaking research projects. The boat is currently steaming to Gulfport for a crew change before continuing her summer survey and mapping of the sea bed off the west coast of Florida. One of the teams will be looking at the effects of the Deepwater Horizon rig oil spill on the habitat.

What makes this ship and its scientific work so different is the live and interactive video link they maintain via the internet. Anyone with internet access can post a question to the scientists on watch and can listen to members of the ship's technical and scientific crew on watch answer their questions live! 

How useful would that be if boats like Cefas Endeavour were able to interact with the fishing industry when carrying out their fisheries survey work?

Join the watch at 8.30 pm tonight and you can join in with a special Q&A with NOAA Sanctuaries' Dr. Billy Causey, who is the lead scientist for their Dry Tortugas cruise. He could have some interesting observations to make given the impending next round of MPAs and sanctuaries being planned for UK waters.

See more at: http://www.nautiluslive.org/#sthash.e2OLHcmA.dpuf

Go to the web site here and ask the guys a question!

The fleet is all at sea - a very quiet fish market this morning with most of the activity in Newlyn centred around restoring the sea front

With the spring tide almost done the netting fleet will be tang ice today and tomorrow, they are virtually the only boats in the post with most of the fleet at sea taking advantage of the fine weather...

one of the fastest fish in the sea is yet again proving somewhat elusive this month...

so fishermen are putting a mornings work in starting at 4am just to catch a few stone of mackerel...

the fish are a good size though with the bulk of them being large medium or 'large meeds' as they are known... 

with only a handful of small in the morning's landing...

there's more than a few hours work for the trawler men working on this hard ground gear - heavy rubber discs mean this trawl will be used to 'hop' over stony and hard ground - hence the name 'rockhopper' trawl...

one of the ports stern trawlers basking in the sunshine...

as the netter Ajax makes her way to the ice berth…

yet more pots have been retrieved by the crabbers after the winter storms...

while more evidence of the harsh winter weather can be seen on the coastal path between Newlyn Green and Wherry Town where the first stage in making good the path...

is almost complete...

while in front of Newlyn Green where the sea wall was breached so badly in the winter storms...

the scale of the repair work is huge as a fleet of earth moving kit has moved in…

and is now digging down well below sea level at high water...

the strength of the caisson can be seen here.

Newlyn Green sea wall repairs underway

The depth of the excavations for the sea wall footings can be seen in this clip - with sea water flooding the work even at half tide.

Newlyn Green - Cormac makes good!

There is some heavy duty construction equipment hard at work that has been starting from 5am in the morning.  The footings for the sea wall repairs at Newlyn Green are being dug well below the high water mark and filled with concrete. It will take a tsunami-like wave to create the damage witnessed earlier this year after these repairs are complete.

When it comes to this - "Launch the fishing vessel Ruthie B" - there's no EU funding for this skipper owner

Bill's video tells the full story - a man passionate about fish, fishing and the fishing community he serves.

Kickstarter is most often used to put money into something completely new like publicly sourced venture capital for a project or business start-up. In this instance the skipper of the Ruthie B, the last groundfish trawler of its kind fishing from Nantucket is doing so to stay in business!

Here's the full story:

Help to re-launch the F/V Ruthie B so Bill can develop the Community Supported Fishery and provide more fresh, local seafood to Nantucket.

"The F/V Ruthie B and I have been supplying fresh seafood to fish markets, restaurants, and individuals on Nantucket for over 35 years. Over the past three years, I have developed relationships with many restaurants, including Proprietors, Club Car, Chanticleer ,Ventuno, Pi Pizza, Galley Beach, to name a few. For years, I have sold to Glidden's Island Seafood, Sayles Seafood, Nantucket Seafoods, Souza' Seafoods, and Nantucket Fresh Catch. Our latest endeavor, Community Supported Fisheries (Ruthie B - CSF), has delighted many individuals with the freshest seafood imaginable and the adventure of trying new species. You can sign up for a CSF share and get "fresh, local fish right off the boat."

Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous jobs in North America. Storms, breakdowns, injuries, fluctuating prices, strict regulations all make the job unpredictable and difficult. These same challenges, however, have helped me become resilient and learn how to keep going under duress. I am 69 and my boat is 35, but I would like to continue fishing as long as possible. My passion is to provide more and better fresh seafood to restaurants, fish markets, and CSF members on Nantucket. I hope to help educate the next generation with knowledge and love of the sea, and possibly help train a young person to take over for me."

Read the full story behind the project here: 

Inshore trawler Valhalla towed in by the trawler Defiant

Valhalla with her trawl net in her prop - known as being 'mopped up'

Trawlers face the dangers of getting their trawl in the propellor every time they haul and shoot. Sometimes a lack of wind and a tide running awkwardly contrive to push the trawl under the hull of the boat without the skipper realising. Infine weather this results in waiting for another boat to come and tow you in - in poor weather such a problem can be far more dangerous - just getting a tow line aboard another boat is hazardous as it involves two vessels in close proximity. Trawlers engaged in pair trawling are far better equipped to deal with this as they come together to swap trawl warps every time they haul and shoot!

Thanks to Ed for the photo.