Monday morning market fish in Newlyn.

Market fish aplenty this morning in Newlyn with a wide range of trawl, beam trawl, inshore trawl and inshore and offshore net fish from nearly 20 boats...

a trio of monk tails...

dozens of Dovers...

filled main market...

with a good range of fish like these haddock...

rays...

a dozen boxes of John Dory...

brill and turbot were in good supply as the Ygraine landed about as late as you can get, her fish still being sorted...

and yet to be iced included these superb gurnard...

brill...

and turbot...

cod...

monk...

as well as the Ygraine the inshore netter, Myghal landed a similar haul of top quality flats like this trio of big turbot...

and a huge number of their slightly smaller cousins...

Red October, or like some sort of Jules Verne submarine...

Cefas Gary gets some lens attention again...

as he gathers yet more data...

a small step for man from the market...

red on red...

a handful od squid...

pristine pollack...

some big shots of ray...

the odd spotted plaice...

a mix of blondes...

typical of the fish caught by tangle net from boats like the Ygraine...

latest addition to the Rowse fleet and her older sister the Intuition...

classic lines...

ther more pragmatic lines of an MTS workboat...

with poor weather arriving last night and more forecast the number of yachts stopping over has grown...

the business end of a Scottish prawn trawler...

the port's biggest beam trawler and a netter...

woodwork in progress.

Quotas ‘must be based on science’

ANY future quotas once Britain leaves the EU should reflect the state of the resources in UK waters at the time, the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFF0) has declared.

The NFFO, which represents fishermen in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said that when quota allocations were set up in 1983 as part of the Common Fisheries Policy relative stability was the intention.

But it was widely acknowledged that the interests of the UK’s fishing industry did not occupy a particularly high place in the UK government’s priorities at the time and, as a result, the UK’s Relative Stability allocations did not reflect a fair or reasonable share of the stocks which are fished in UK waters.

The NFFO said: ‘Our view is that as a matter of principle, as with any coastal state, the UK’s quota shares should reflect the resources present in our waters.

‘It may subsequently be in our interest to use some of these resources as currency to negotiate other fishing opportunities, or to secure access to European markets.

‘But the baselines for a post-Brexit fisheries regime should be the renegotiation of the UK’s quota shares to reflect the resources located in UK waters.’

As part of the recalibration of quota shares between the UK and EU, the NFFO said it expected the Hague Preference, or other mechanisms derived from the CFP, will no longer be relevant to the UK.

‘It is our view that the UK’s quota of stocks shared with other countries should be based on a scientifically robust objective evaluation of the resources located in the respective European Economic Zone (EEZ) .’

Info courtesy of the NFFO website.

EU project to provide vital research on salmon and sea trout populations in the English Channel

EU project to provide vital research on salmon and sea trout populations in the English Channel

William Beaumont, a senior fisheries scientist at GWCT, with two sea trout from the River Frome, Dorset UK.

AN environmental project that will provide vital research on rapidly declining salmon and sea trout (Salmonid) populations is set to receive a multimillion pound investment from the EU’s Interreg France (Channel) England programme.

The project, called SAMARCH (SAlmonid MAnagement Round the CHannel), is being led by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT).
SAMARCH is a cross-border project, with 10 partner organisations - five in France and five in the UK.

This project will use state-of-the-art fish monitoring facilities on five rivers across the south of England and northern France, including the Freshwater Biological Association’s River Laboratory on the River Frome, the Environment Agency’s facilities on the River Tamar, the Institut National de Recherche Agronomique’s facilities on Rivers Scorff and Oir and its specialist fish research team, as well as the Agence Française pour la Biodiversité’s facilites on River Bresle. Other partners include the Universities of Bournemouth, Exeter and Agrocampus Ouest, and Salmon & Trout Conservation UK, Normandie Grands Migrateurs and Bretagne Grands Migrateurs.

SAMARCH will focus on the behaviour and mortality of salmonid populations in estuaries and coastal waters to determine where losses are greatest. It will also use DNA analysis to map areas in the English channel that are important for sea trout, provide new information to improve the tools used by the regulatory bodies in England and France to manage their salmon stocks. For example, by providing novel information on the long term changes in the growth rates of salmon using historical salmon scale collections and improve our understanding of the ratio of male and female salmon that go to sea using DNA.

SAMARCH will engage with stakeholders and use the knowledge gathered during the five-year project (2017 to 2022) to update regulations in both France and England on the management of salmonids in estuaries and coastal waters which, are hoped will realise an increase in salmon and sea trout.

The research is important because Atlantic salmon and sea trout, have declined by around 70% since the 1970s, they play a major role in coastal and river ecosystems and have a considerable economic importance through angling in Europe which is estimated to be worth as much as €1.2 billion a year.

Dylan Roberts, head of fisheries at GWCT and project manager, said: “Until recently, management has focused largely on addressing issues in freshwater. However, we know that more than 90% of salmon smolts that leave our rivers for their feeding grounds in the north Atlantic die at sea.

“Researching salmon in the sea has always been technically difficult, but recent developments in fish tracking technology, DNA methodologies and advances in data analysis techniques now enables us to quantify what proportion of this mortality occurs in the estuary and coastal areas, as well as their movements through these areas. SAMARCH will also sharpen the tools used to manage salmonid stocks and adjust our management strategies accordingly.

“In light of the recent growth of coastal renewable energy schemes, such as tidal lagoons and underwater turbines and their potential harm on fish populations, SAMARCH will gain knowledge to provide pertinent information to manage this risk.

“We are delighted that the Interreg programme has decided to support SAMARCH and we look forward to working with our partners over the next five years.”

SAMARCH is 69% funded by the Interreg France (Channel) England programme 3 which is part of the European Regional Development Fund 4.

More information about the Programme can be found at https://interreg5a-fce.eu/.

Fishing insurer puts safety first at Skipper Expo

Commercial fishing remains one of the most hazardous occupations, says Tom Rutter, CEO of Sunderland Marine

Fishing vessel insurer Sunderland Marine is putting safety at the top of its agenda during Skipper Expo International Aberdeen this month.

During the show, Sunderland Marine will be presenting an animated version of its graphic-novel-style guide ‘Safe Out, Safe Home: A Safety Guide for New Fishing Crew’.

“Commercial fishing remains one of the most hazardous occupations and those who work in the industry face the risk of serious injury or loss of life on a daily basis,” said Sunderland Marine CEO, Tom Rutter.

“Following our successful merger with North P&I Club, we are now investing significantly to promote loss prevention and safer working environments on all fishing vessels - and see Skipper Expo as an ideal opportunity to support this.”

Sunderland Marine’s guide, published last October, has already been distributed to fishing vessels worldwide. Aimed primarily at young people joining fishing vessels for the first time, the guide is designed to give them a quick introduction to the safety training and familiarisation they should receive on board - as well as to prompt skippers to provide this.

“By animating the guide and showing it on our stand, we hope to capture visitors’ attention and convince them of the importance of making fishing boats safer places to work,” added Rutter. “As the leading international insurer of fishing vessels, with over 8,000 policyholders worldwide, we are acutely aware of the many, sometimes avoidable, accidents that occur at sea. All of us connected with the maritime industry share a responsibility to ensure safe working conditions. As well as reducing unnecessary pain and suffering, fewer accidents mean more profitable fishing and lower insurance premiums, so everyone benefits.”

Sunderland Marine will be exhibiting on stand 36-37 at the show, to be held at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre on 26-27 May.

Prior to the show, Sunderland Marine will be sponsoring the ‘Contribution to Safety’ prize at the 2017 Fishing News Awards.

- See more at: http://www.worldfishing.net/news101/industry-news/fishing-insurer-puts-safety-first-at-skipper-expo#sthash.wqdaPrcZ.dpuf

Thursday's fish market in Newlyn.

Not a netter insight! as six inshore trawlers and two f the port's biggest beam trawlers vie for the best prices...

on the fish market at Newlyn where Cefas Sam is busy collecting a sample of otoliths from the morning's landings...

young Roger has swung in to full John Dory mode and this last trip saw a dozen boxes of the beauties put ashore...

their appetite matching that of the Imogen's skipper...

who also landed a few boxes of good sized haddock... 

and megrim soles...

while there were the few odd boxes of line caught pollack from a handful of punt landings...

the buyers were keen to meet the demand for top quality fish during this first big tourist week of the season...

with no netters due until tomorrow these were pretty much the only hake on the market...

name the fish with these tails...

getting up close, always a top tip for aspiring photographers...

especially when your subject matter almost fills the box, Tom did manage to wrassle a few JDs away from the clutches of the Dory king...

just look at that sidestep, a move British Lions' local boy Jack Nowell would be proud of...

he was peeping in the 80s and he was peeping in the 90s...

and this year's John Dory chasing award goes to...

anything to do with fishing means it has to be bigger, stronger and more durable than might otherwise be the case, and that even includes the construction of a simple item like the freshwater hose carrier...

keeping the seabed tidy...

after a hard season working away from Newlyn the Chris Tacha is back for a spruce-up...

inshore boats have crowded decks at the best of times and even ore so when they have new gear to put out...

as in the case of the Mordros.

What's at Mousehole Fish today?

Apart from a friendly smile of course! Mousehole Fish's self-selected catch-of-the-day; mini-monk tails, megrim, gurnards, haddock and dabs grace the wet fish counter down the bottom of town in Penzance this morning!

You can order by phone here!