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Wednesday 14 December 2016

Mid-week blues.


Two on Tuesday...


done and dusted by 7am...


as first light approaches the bay...


as the latest haul of sardines landed overnight are loaded on the transport...


waiting for wire warps...


name after the largest freshwater lake in Israel, Galilee on the sea...


bins of nets ready for sea...


some of the port's the netters are now back in port...


 having landed their last trips for the year ahead of the month's final spring tide...


the sorry sight of the Excellent laid almost on her side...


held away from the quay by the starboard side gallows...



the function of which - to provide support for the warp to run out through hanging blocks and to allow the crew to lift the trawl doors well above the sea so that they can be stowed on deck - can be clearly seen in this 1940s film about trawling, mostly shot in Newlyn aboard a sister ship to the Excellent...


PZ192, the Jacqueline...


she was also one of Stevenson's ex-Admiralty MFV wooden sidewinders that were the basis of their fleet after the war...


the boat was cleared of any oil or fuel a long time ago so does not present any kind of pollution threat in the harbour - just a major headache for her owner who was hoping to restore her and use her as a houseboat.

Tuesday 13 December 2016

EU Fisheries Council annual negotiations - Day two in Brussels.

Mr Ewing said: “All our arguments are based on sound science. Hopefully, this evidence-based approach will deliver the best deal possible for Scottish fishermen.”






The annual December EU Fisheries Council meeting to bash out quota allocations for EU members is taking place in Brussels.  Here is today's agenda. This year, there is an added twist as the UK is sat at the negotiating table but a few months ahead of triggering Article 50 and its withdrawal from the EU and, by default, the CFPO

#Agrifish members round the table today in 2016.
The terms of that withdrawal are, like the entire post referendum Brexit plan, as yet, unclear. The words 'Take back control' were probably the most used by 'Leave' politicians keen to sell the idea of a Britain better off outside the EU club during and after the leave campaign. 


UK Fishing EEZ 

Other EU member states with big interests in the UK's rich fishing grounds are also passionately interested to see just what 'take back control' means for them. Many articles and blog posts have appeared voicing their concerns. Whatever the outcome, overall EU fish quotas are determined by scientific data - and that data comes from ICES - not the EU so once the EU Fisheries Council have determined national quotas it is down to the member states to further distribute those regionally - in the UK that process is managed by the MMO.

Politicians supporting Brexit often quote the apparent successful management of fish stocks by Norway and Iceland - perhaps this is a naive, simplistic (but politically expedient) approach as both countries are negotiating over a small number of species namely, cod, mackerel and herring 


Owen Patterson https://goo.gl/IMveHG
- whereas the UK will be negotiating with Denmark, Holland, France, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Ireland, Germany, Lithuania and others for access to cod, coley, plaice, lemon sole, Dover sole, megrim sole, hake, haddock, whiting, ling, bass, sandeel, tusk, boarfish, blue ling, dab, langoustine, herring, swordfish, tuna, ray, skate, dogfish, turbot, brill, halibut and halibut.  


#agrifish seating plan 2016

All of the current arrangements managed, with all its shortcomings by the current CFPO - something to bear in mind that given the mammoth task in re-negotiating any deals in order to 'take back control' the current government may simply continue to adopt, lock, stock and barrel.  Forewarnings are already there that the Great 'Repeal' Bill will make that the new reality.






The Great' Repeal' Bill has consequences for the industry above and beyond Brexit, hard or soft.



The approach taken by some ministers leveling unsubstantiated accusations at other countries with whom we will be trying to negotiate a better deal for us might make for good sound bites but not good for arguing our case.



Neil Parish  https://goo.gl/mLC2fO

At the end of the day, North Atlantic fish stocks - a shared resource - are significantly improving in many cases thanks to the application of EU, national and local control and a huge effort by many fishermen to fish sustainably with the confines of the CFPO. 



Monday 12 December 2016

It maybe a mizzly Monday morning but it's already 12˚ at 6am!


Two boys aboard the Two Jays get a chance to cut up bait, an easier job while in the harbour without the boat rolling all over the place...


pretty much a full house this morning...


with some of the best quality inshore fish up for auction like these monk tails from Helford's netter, New Harmony...


 an unseasonally big trip of megrims from the Resurgam...


along with a good run of plaice...


and a selection...


of rays


to keep up the variety...


even a few boxes of snakes...


along with big trips of white fish form the netters like the Karen of Ladram making her final landing for 2016 as another spring tide approaches...


a few red mullet...


and glistening haddock...


at this time of year the boats generously donate boxes of fish towards the upkeep of the world famous Newlyn Harbour Lights...


money raised from a box of these would light an entire tree for a year!...


three Dover soles taken form three distinct kinds of ground...


looks like another photog is on the scene this morning...


boxes of big hake from the Karen...


and a double dose of white fish roe...


it takes two to tango...


the biggest and best, 6-7+ kilo hake  are a popular Christmas day fish for big Spanish families - they can work out at over £150 a fish!...



no sign of Christmas jumpers just yet, but the hats suggest some festive spirit on the market this morning...


as the buyers bid their way through the Joy of Ladram's  fish...


like these coley...


a reflection of the prices this morning as they get higher and higher...


auctioneer Ian gets the last bid down in the book...


all set for the big switch on this Friday...


another wind farm Seacat on passage...


as the Govenek of Ladram is made fast to the quay for the last time this year.


Sunday 11 December 2016

Busy Sunday in Newlyn.


Basking in the sunshine, hardly 14 days before Xmas...


and unusually for this time of year, a Belgian beam trawler O33 Marbi... 


 has been fishing SW of Newlyn...


her starboard side beam is suspended high above the deck...


while some of the crew set about repairing the fishing line...


she is registered in Oostende...



 some of the netters are already back in port for the last time this year...


as topsides of the new crabber slowly takes shape...


as does the sardine boat Pelagic Marksman, it won't be long before she is filling the refrigerated FalFish trailer with fish.