Trawler Tales - Newlyn fishermen on camera again!

This new three-part documentary series for ITV focuses on the lives of Cornish trawlermen made by Wild Pictures for ITV.

Trawlermen do one of the most dangerous jobs in Britain, braving extreme weather and danger in their relentless search for the big catch. It takes a special kind of man to do the job. And it takes a special kind of woman to stand beside them.

With unique access to the fishermen of Newlyn, Cornwall, Trawlermen Tales gets under the skin of the men who risk their lives to catch our fish. We lift the lid on the gritty reality of their jobs and meet the families they risk it all for. From battling broken engines and trying to keep their relationships afloat, to the challenge of landing highly dangerous catches before getting home, sometimes just in time to see the birth of their children.

Wild Pictures’ cameras are there to see what drives them out to sea…and keeps them going back…

Watch a short trailer for the series here:

Episode one goes out on January the 5th, 12th & 19th at 8pm on ITV.

A trip down memory lane aboard the Picton Sea Eagle - early 1990s Milford Haven trawler.

Milford fisheren - documentary about the lives of the crew of the Picton Sea Eagle, a fishing boat working out of Milford Haven in West Wales.

Milford was once a huge fishing centre - with a fleet of boats famed for catching Channel ray and skate (roker) and hake.

There was a direct rail link with Billingsgate in London - the fish market was also a platform with fish auctioned, sorted, boxed and then loaded straight into fish wagons bound for London.

Photo courtesy of Dennis Marin, Milford Haven.

The following pics courtesy if the taffiehorns.com website - he mentions diving for crayfish out of Milford in the 1970s so there are a number of Nelwyn fishermen who did the same and may well know this guy!

"In above pic. the Vessel stbd side to quay at Newlyn is I believe the trawler Trevessa which lies down on sandy bottom about a mile off & about that much west of Oxwich Point, I dived on it often when Trinity House vessel was searching for it, I was on the MV Young John, tied to the samson towrope fast to the Trevessa.

I would never admit it but there is a ship's wheel in my bar rumoured to have been recovered from Trevessa.  P.S.  It cd not come out of the wheelhouse window & had to be carried thru an empty engine room & up thru galley.  I could never really admit to this!"

In the late 1970s and early 1980s a small fleet of Newlyn longliners fished from Milford mainly for dogfish and skate - the Spes Firma owned and skippered by Kenny Downing being one.

At that time the fleet in Milford had been reduced to just a handful of near-water trawlers: Kinnelan, Norrard Star, Bryher, Andrew Wilson, Westerdale, Rosevear and the legendary Picton Sea Eagle - who could forget skipper Frank (Cranky) Reynolds! - other boats in the fleet included the Girl Freda skippered by Bobby Cairns and the Vigilant skippered by Peter Sheriff.

There was also a Newlyn boat Quo Vadis registered in Milford and part owned by the uncle of Newlyn and England rugby player Luke Cowan-Dickie and Robbie Wilkins. She was one of a number of Newlyn boats that fished for crayfish - today they would have been known as 'hand-dived' crayfish!

During the late 1970s the port was used as a base for the big East coast freezer trawlers that fished for mackerel off Cornwall. One Newlyn skipper recalls some of the crew from these boats 'racing' the little Lister autotrucks used to pull boxes of fish across the market - and ending up in the dock!

The Galleon, found just outside the dock gates was one of those legendary fishing port pubs famous for its lock-ins was run by an ex-Welsh rugby player in the late 1970s.

That's right #EatMoreFish!

Looks like #EatMoreFish has travelled across the big pond to our American cousins! Good to see the TV over there championing the health benefits that we all know a diet that includes fish at least twice a week can bring to you and your family!

There are several ways to buy the finest Cornish fish online even if you don't live anywhere near a fishing port!

Here are just some of the suppliers in Newlyn who can supply the finest fresh Cornish fish by courier:



Fresh Cornish Fish

Newlyn Fresh Fish by post from Stevensons

Dreckly Fish

Newlyn Fish Company

Emma Louise - putting fresh Cornish crab on your Christmas table!

Emma Louise

Spare a thought for the boys if you're going to be enjoying some 'ansum Real Cornish Crab over the festive period.... they're an awesome bunch! 

Video courtesy of the The Real Cornish Crab Company.

Samskip Express rescue videos.

A short video of the Ivan Ellen lifeboat picking up the tow rope from the Samskip Express and passing it to the tug MTS Viscount.

A big thank you to Andrew Stevens, Dreckly fisherman and Penlee lifeboat crewman who filmed Saturday's epic shout in keeping the crew safe aboard the 150m container ship Samskip Express.

That's All Folks!

Happy Christmas one and all!...

as the last Newlyn fish auction in 2015 comes to a close...

just a couple of boats landed haddock...

monk tails...

and possibly the last bass to be seen on the market until well into the new year...

so it's goodbye from the deadly duo...

and smiles all round from the Tonking boys... 

proudly showing off their brand spanking new white market outfits...

some of the boats have joined in the festive mood...

at a time when families come together...
  

hopefully despite some significant quota cuts for some the promise of a new boat will bring Christmas cheer...

to one and all!

Final Monday market in Newlyn.

With one day to go before the final auction on Newlyn's fish market there is plenty of fish for the buyers to choose from as, despite the weather, the weekend saw fish landed from beam trawlers, gill netters, inshore trawlers, handliners and inshore boats...

with the unsettled weather the chances are there will be precious little fish caught over the holiday break so the buyers will have to second guess what they need - not so easy...

big meaty monk tails like these from the New Harmony are always a big favourite with the buyers...

while the haddocks for the beam trawler Lisa Jacqueline are going to be one of the major species for problems with the new Landing Obligation regulations when they come into force on January 1st - the bad news from Brussels last week was that in some areas they will not be phased in as expected - 

not only are there big changes at sea, closer to home the harbour will be introducing strict new hygiene regulations for all those working or even visiting the market when the fish auction is in progress...

for visitors and others visiting on spec the harbour will have a limited supply of suitable clothing to loan out...

just some of the pollack form the Berlewen...

which helped all but fill the western end of the market, traditionally where fish from the net boats is laid out for sale...

for the first time in years the entire Nowell's fleet will be in port over the break, the Elisabeth, Karen and Louisa N.