Fish 'n herbs - why not grow your own?

Diary date- Penlee Lifeboat Open Day - 26th October

Date for your diaries - Penlee Lifeboat Open Day will take place on Sunday 26th October from 10:00am until 4:00pm, and for the first time in many years it will include the opening of the old Penlee Lifeboat Station at Mousehole. Further details will follow in the coming weeks so keep an eye on Facebook. Please come along and help to support the vital work carried out by our dedicated crews and shore staff at RNLI Penlee. We look forward to meeting you.

Taking your time - #Slowfood in Cornwall

How your lobster are caught - the @DrecklyFish way.

Follow Francis here!

“No pussy, no mercy...in the Bering Sea’’

It's always good to see how our friends across the water fare at sea - given all fishermen face the same adversities - namely where to find the fish and what is the forecast! Check out this new site from a new website Bering Sea vs Me! This is an interesting take on getting new recruits into the industry written by fisherman Daniel Hoksza.

Newlyn's mid-week market fairly quiet this morning

Sun up and the fish are on the move...

including a good shot of hake from the Britannia...

and a good run of mackerel made it to the auction this morning...

some of the boats 'wing' their ray at sea...

while these squid are looked after with a layer of perforated plastic to keep them in tip-top condition...

gridlocked forklifts on Newlyn fish market...

all set to sail, the Joy of  Ladram...

and Britannia...

along with the crabber Kastel Paol...

with another fine day forecast...

as an early morning jetliner heads to mainland Europe.

UK FISHERIES MINISTERS AND STAKEHOLDERS MEETING AUTUMN NEGOTIATIONS 2014

Due to be held at the end of next month in Belfast - this year's stakeholders' meeting which will specifically look at fishing opportunities ahead in 2015. This is a chance for key players in the industry to take part in a broad discussion ahead of the TAC negotiations at the end of the year.

The meeting will be held in the Pavilion, Stormont Estate, Belfast and commence at 10.00 am and is likely to close around 13.30 pm with lunch being provided at 12.30 pm. The meeting will focus on international fisheries negotiations. In particular, it will seek to discuss priorities for this year’s autumn negotiations leading to the setting of TACS and quotas for 2015. 


AGENDA (DRAFT)

10.00 – 10.30 Tea and coffee

10.30 – 10.40 Welcome and introductions

10.40 – 12.15 Priorities for fishing opportunities 2015

12.15 – 12.30 Any other business

12.30 – 13.30 Lunch

Skippers prove a match for scientists on fish stock levels

Fishermen are just as good as scientists at predicting the level of commercial fish stocks, according to startling new research.

A comparison of skippers’ knowledge and catch/effort data with scientifically collected data found that they reached similar conclusions about the distribution and abundance of stocks in the North Sea.

Fishermen in Scotland have long argued they have a good understanding of the level and whereabouts of different stocks – yet quotas are set entirely according to scientific surveys.

Now the fishermen have proof in the form of a paper published by Dr Paul Macdonald, a scientist at the NAFC Marine Centre in Scalloway, Shetland, with colleagues in the journal Marine Policy.

The study examines data for the increasingly commercially valuable species megrim (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis) in an area stretching from the edge of the continental shelf north-west of Shetland to the north-east coast of Scotland.

The megrim population has increased in size and range in recent years and has been caught in shallower waters than normal (50-200m instead of the usual 250-400m).

The study concludes that “fishers’ perceptions of changes in distribution and abundance of megrim in the northern North Sea are consistent with [scientific] survey data”.

Dr Macdonald and his colleagues urge fisheries regulators to make use of the skippers’ knowledge when determining quota levels for relevant species.

Current quotas for many species of fish are perceived to be low relative to the amount of fish available, resulting in high levels of discarding.

The scientists state: “The results of this study indicate that there is considerable potential for the use of fishers’ knowledge and data in the assessment and management process in the demersal fishery in the northern North Sea.”

Leslie Tait, chairman of the Shetland Fishermen’s Association, said: “This research shows very clearly that fishermen have an intuitive understanding of the levels of fish stocks and where they are at any given time.

“While it relates specifically to megrim, I’m sure the same could be said of most species caught in the North Sea.

“I hope our regulators in Brussels, London and Edinburgh take note of this paper and recognise that fishermen can play a vital role in managing the industry, specifically by feeding data in to the process of setting quotas.”

For further information please contact Paul Riddell of Platform Shetland on 07739 750543, 01595 697296 or paul.riddell@platformshetland.co.uk