Mid-week landings at Newlyn.

The beam trawler St Georges was the sole big boat to land any trawl fish this morning...

so fish like these plaice...

lemons...

monkfish...

and Doversole all made good money...

taking up much more room were big trips of white fish from the netter Ocean Pride...

with a handful of big blues...

and fine ling...

sat alongside a box of the best bass...

from the number one, er number 2 line caught man, Cap'n Cod...

keeping auctioneer Ryan on his toes...

after selling the first big trip of cuttles to be put ashore...

then it was the turn of the hake...

with those golden eyes guaranteed to attract the attention of the buyers for fish from

the Gary M...

no doubts about who bought the prime pollack then...

before they get whisked away...

in the early morning light...

heralding the kind of day we could have done with more of in the summer...

looking back East towards the Penzance skyline...

and the Trinity House boat Patricia sitting at anchor in the Bay surrounded by punts handlining for mackerel...

on one of those flat calm mornings to make you stop and contemplate just how luck you are to live by the sea in the far west of #Cornwall.

Would you recognise another octopus?

ICES Annual Science Conference 2015

Here is a summary of one of the presentations during this year's ICES Science Conference to do with stock assessment models.

You can take part in any of the presentations as they are being live-streamed:

Stock assessment models form the scientific basis for fishery management advice in ICES and regional fishery management organizations.  Improvements in fishery monitoring data, survey techniques, computing technology, and statistical modelling contribute to the advancement of stock assessment methods in several dimensions. The ICES Strategic Initiative for Stock Assessment Methods (SISAM) is designed to ensure that scientists can apply the best stock assessment methods when developing management advice for fisheries. This theme session intends to promote the exchange of developments and identification of best practices from ICES assessment groups as well as from regional fishery management organizations, national fisheries agencies, and academic research.

We invite contributions on a wide variety of topics that are relevant to stock assessment methods:

• The development of new stock assessment methods
• Performance evaluation of alternative methods for supporting management advice
• Methods for data-limited situations
• Incorporation of multispecies and environmental processes in stock assessment
• Addressing ecosystem considerations in stock assessments
• Effective communication of stock assessment results to fishery managers and stakeholders

Millennia on Monday

Inshore trawlers and the beam trawler...

Billy Rowney made up Monday morning's landing...

of plaice...

gargantuan gurnards...

and some signs squid are on the move...

this solitary scallop comes complete with a rooftop garden...

while the Padstow netter filled a good number of boxes with a big shot of ray...

the Millennia stole the show with these John Dory...

that top bass man Cap'n Cod ices up his latest efforts...

specimen tub gurnard would make a fantastic tabletop feast in any fine-dining establishment...

signs of things moving from the red into the black on the grounds...

meaty mullet...

there's still a smattering of mackerel around the coast for the inshore punts handlining for them...

an article in the Guardian talks about conger eels being wiped out by trawling as there are very few landed these days - this is not quite as it seems - trawlers go out of their way to avoid the kind of ground that congers inhabit - rocks and wrecks - and as the main fishing method used to catch congers - longlining - is no longer practised by any boats in the south west, consequently, none are landed other than the odd box or two picked up by boats fishing near to wrecks or patches of hard  ground...

if you are lucky these cracking inshore red mullet destined for a restaurant near you maybe...

at the other end of the market hake from the netters Ajax and Britannia V should make good money...

with the buyers closing in on their prey...

chasing a good run of 3-4 kilo fish...

"move 'em out"...

all set to sail again.

Saturday is sailing day - even if it means missing your daughter's 5th birthday.

Saturday sailing for some

Coming hard astern...

there's never a shortage of running water on the decks of a fishing boat...

almost time for the Ajax  to sail...

while fishing TV's latest star of The Catch, Govenek of Ladram takes ice...

a good day to be out on the water...

as Rescue 192 makes a flypast over Newlyn, a sight that will soon be part of history as RNAS Culdrose hand over SAR duties to Bristows and a new fleet of rescue helicopters comes into service...

two men and a boat head for open water...

followed by the Ajax away on the second half of her trip...

nice enough for an end of season sail...

something to show for a morning's work on the pots...

another one for the DecklyFish pot...

all in a night's work for the RNLI, always there to pick up the pieces of somebody's life...

though this year the ILB boys are lagging behind in the action dept!