Huge plans to redevelop historic Newlyn fishing port

Plans for a breakwater, marina, watersports facilities, maritime industrial estate and housing.

How Sandy Cove could look with the new breakwater and deeper port for larger fishing vessels.

Newlyn Harbour Commissioners and its advisory board have shared an initial outline of plans for the improvement and update of the historic fishing port’s infrastructure at a time when Brexit has put added pressure on the Cornish fishing industry.

The plans would see the creation of deeper drafts to cater for bigger fishing vessels, a breakwater to protect the town from stormy seas, a maritime industrial estate, marina, watersports facilities and housing.

A spokesperson for the project said: “Parts of Newlyn and the fishing industry locally are in desperate need of more support.

“By offering improved facilities, a better working environment and providing a base for marine skills, we can ensure that the way of life in Newlyn cannot just continue but flourish in a way we have not seen in decades.”

Newlyn’s harbourmaster Rob Parsons added: “We want to bring Newlyn to the wider community, supporting our local small businesses and artisans, creating a destination that embodies all the skills, trades and traditions that the town has in abundance. 

“We are seeing an increase in larger fishing vessels in Newlyn, with local companies investing in the future of fishing, which gives us great confidence, and as a port we need to do everything we can to facilitate them.”

He said: “Newlyn lands in the region of 14,000 tonnes of fish annually with a value of £30 million and we are in a great position now to build on that and for local fishermen and fish producers to capitalise where they can, using Newlyn’s location to the prime fishing grounds to our advantage, ensuring the fish caught in our waters comes through our harbour entrance and into our auction.”

The plans initially focus on developing Sandy Cove to enable Newlyn to welcome boats with deeper drafts and offer a safe haven in all weathers.

A proposed breakwater will act as protection from the storms to the town’s existing piers, which have seen storm-driven seas sweeping over the harbour walls in recent weeks.

How Newlyn could look from above if the breakwater is built (Image: Newlyn Harbour Commissioners) The long-term plans include a maritime industrial estate, marine skills centre, marina, leisure, watersports facilities, transport links and housing.

Mr Parsons added: “We aim to bring people together, in such a way that allows the industry to work, whilst tourists and locals alike can enjoy the benefits of fresh fish, incredible vistas and the unique connections with the rich heritage of Cornwall and artisans that are in abundance in Newlyn.”

The plans are in the initial stages and with “positive comments already coming from Cornwall Council” the advisory board is now inviting stakeholders and members of the public to bring ideas and concepts as well as suggestions that can benefit the overall goal.

The project’s spokesperson added: “The Harbour Commissioners and Advisory Board are hoping the planning and discussion stages will help bring the plans to the hearts of the people, and it will in turn feel like a local community project, where everyone involved will feel proud of what has been achieved.

“Plans of this scale can only be achieved when everyone works together and from the initial reaction from the advisory board’s research, it really feels like what is needed can be delivered under the leadership of Cornwall Council, and the guidance and investment from Newlyn Harbour, Marine Developments Limited and the private business sector.

“This is the opportunity to grab the bright future that Newlyn deserves, that will benefit Newlyn, Penzance and the whole neighbouring area for many years to come.”

Cornwall councillors will receive a presentation of the plans by the Newlyn advisory board this Thursday.

Concept plans can now be viewed online on the advisory board section of the harbour website.

Full story courtesy of Cornwall Live 

By chief repoprter Lee Trewhela.

Jersey: French fishermen caught up in post-Brexit bureaucratic storm

 

Many people breathed a sigh of relief after the UK and EU reached a last-minute post-Brexit trade deal last year. But for French fishermen in Normandy and Brittany opposite the Channel Islands, Brexit spells disaster. The accord nullified their access to fish in Jersey's territorial waters. After pressure from Brussels and France, the island issued temporary licences to French boats – but these are due to expire at the end of April. 

Full story courtesy of FRANCE 24's David Gilberg and Julia Kim who went to meet fishermen caught up in the post-Brexit bureaucratic storm.

It's not only the UK that has issues with giant Dutch company Cornelius Vrolijk.

We regularly talk about "giant trawlers" ... But why is this fishing model called into question by artisanal fishermen and environmental associations? 

The Scombrus is a giant 80-meter trawler, launched on September 25, 2020 in Concarneau, by the company France Pélagique, a subsidiary of the Dutch group Cornelis Vrolijk. Fishermen and civil society then mobilised, making it possible to shed light on this vessel. 

Indeed, France Pélagique has only French in name. It is a subsidiary of a Dutch industrial fishing empire: Cornelis Vrolijk. This arrangement allows Dutch boats to be registered in France, and therefore to fish on French quotas. At 52m However, the fishing capacities of giant trawlers are disproportionate: up to 200 tonnes of fish per day. This is as much as what the auction of Lorient, the largest French auction, deals with. The fish is directly frozen and packaged on board. 46m So, to be profitable, the owners of these boats must have a lot of quota. 

Hence the takeover of foreign companies by Dutch companies. But in the countries in question like France, it is the resource of artisanal fishermen that is monopolised Water wave Charles Braine and 9 others recently bought the LABBEL NORMANDY, a trawler very well endowed with quota. The boat's quotas were then moved onto the company's giant trawlers, before the boat's crew were fired and disposed of. A social scandal. Charles Braine and 9 others 37m Other groups like Parleviet Van Der Plaas also own certain French armaments. In France, shipping lines such as Euronor, the Saint Malo Fisheries Company, the French Oceanic Tuna Company and France Pélagique belong to Dutch firms Charles Braine and 9 others

Cornelis Vrolijk, Parlevliet & van der Plas (P&P) and Willem van der Zwan own, through their subsidiaries, 17 giant trawlers over 80 meters in length which operate in European waters. These three companies, which were initially family businesses, have now absorbed many European companies. Their empire is accumulating more and more quota, whether through the ITQ systems in Holland and the UK, or through the purchase of boats in France.

We are therefore witnessing a generalised grabbing of quotas and therefore of marine resources, by the shareholders of these Dutch groups. However, the efficiency of these boats is strongly criticised by artisanal fishermen.

In fact, in addition to the fishing capacity of 200 tonnes per day, we can also ask the question of by-catches. These boats work in French waters before disembarking in the Netherlands, and the fish are already conditioned: what about the controls?

In addition, the fish caught (mackerel, horse mackerel, anchovies, herring) are species which are also exploited by artisanal fishermen. The latter therefore have less quota, and see the stocks of the species they target strongly impacted.

In addition, these fishing methods are financed with public money. Since the early 1980s, the European Union has put several billion euros in public subsidies on the table to develop its fishing capacity. The majority of aid concerns manufacturers.

The domination of this model is called into question by associations such as @PleineMerAsso and @Bloom_FR.  Unfortunately, the shipowners in question are extremely well represented in the fisheries bodies: this will be the subject of a future THREAD.

Further information from Josse Tibault at the Pleine Mer organisation. (Deep Sea)

The whole fish and nothing but the fish - Kokotxas comes to Newlyn!

Forgotten Fish is an exciting and innovative fishmongering venture set to bring a whole new world of fish preparation and cookery to Cornwall with a strong Celtic cousin's link. Son of the fish merchant dynasty, Trelawney Fish and a self-taught chef, Richard Adams is looking to provide the county's outstanding fish chefs and more adventurous fish loving home cooks with an entirely new range of cuts based on the concept of using 'the whole fish'!

Through the Gaps recently discovered the concept in the form of a new cook book from that exciting Aussie chef, Josh Niland - The Whole Fish - especially as many of the recipes can make use of the huge variety of fish regularly available on Newlyn fish market...

just one example being a recipe for sardines and anchovies - fish often caught together by the Cornish sardine fleet from July through to January and beyond.

 

Up first for dissection are what is known as, 'Kokotaxas'.

These compact triangles of flesh show the hidden potential in forgotten cuts. Found on the underside of a hake, the throat essentially, in the Basque region of Spain they are revered for their uniquely gelatinous texture and delicate flavour. 

I’ve searched for figures on the value of this tiny bite to the Spanish fishing fleet, who cut them at sea, but come up blank. What I do know is that a selling price of €60/k is standard, and based on an annual catch three times the UK, they probably represent not insubstantial worth to Spanish fishermen. Spain’s premiere supplier of kokotxas, Paco Ferreres - ‘El Rey de Kokotxas’, sells over 200k of them every week! This remains an untapped resource in Cornwall however, where kokotxas are unknown to fishermen, fishmongers, and processors.

It takes around 100k of whole fish to produce 1k of kokotxas, which gives some idea of how labour intensive the process is. But there is value in that time. Over 12 000 tonnes of MSC certified hake was landed into Newlyn in 2019, around half of which were prime size fish for extracting kokotxas, this could represent around 60 tonnes of high value fish going to waste annually - which seems environmentally, economically, and gastronomically illogical. 

Here in the UK it takes someone like @tomos_pp @bratrestaurant to give them a deserved place on the menu. Richard first sent a box from Cornwall to London to feature on the menu of a collaboration between Brat and @elkano_jatetxea , the Basque temple of seafood where he first tried kokotxas. For him it still feels unreal to be supplying Brat and he is proud to see these Cornish delicacies as a constant fixture at one of the best restaurants in the country. Tomos’ approach of serving unrivalled produce in a way that genuinely puts the ingredient first, the perfect celebration of the kokotxa! His support for Forgotten Fish has been instrumental in enabling Richard to pursue other goals for the business.

Richard goes on to explain the thinking behind this exciting new venture for Newlyn; Forgotten Fish aims to reduce waste within the fishing industry by reconsidering the value of lesser used species and cuts, and connecting chefs and restaurateurs in support of creating more sustainable practices within the sector directly to the supply chain at ports and processors. An estimated 57% of the UK’s fish and shellfish resource - that is the total of what we catch or farm - is classed as waste and does not reach our tables. Of this, 17% is constituted by discards, 5% by processing at sea, and a huge 35% by onshore processing. If we were to reclaim just 1% of the 35% of waste created at the point of onshore processing across the country, it would equate to nearly 3000 tonnes of edible fish per year. 

Instead of just coveting the fillet, Forgotten Fish promotes more specialist cuts like cheeks, collars, throats and bellies to the food community, finding markets with chefs who are keen not just to support sustainable projects in their restaurants, but also to experiment with underused parts of the fish - often delicacies in other countries - giving their menus an edge over others just serving conventional cuts. In addition to this there are many species traditionally considered to be of little value, usually destined for the crab pot as bait, that chefs are willing now more than ever to put on their menus, celebrating the diversity of our waters and reducing strain on more popular and overfished stocks. 

By promoting these species directly to the new wave of young and experimental chefs who want to cook with them, we can find markets for fish that were otherwise considered bycatch, reducing waste and increasing revenue to fishermen. This is a gift of food from an existing resource, increasing productivity and profitability in the supply chain without putting any additional strain on fisheries. Put simply, making the most of what we already have. In the context of today’s environmental situation, not just with regards to fish stocks and sea health, but more broadly concerns over food deficits and shortages, we are simply not in a position to be wasting food like we do. 

An increasing concern across all sectors, it will not be long before the focus is turned to the fishing industry to question what is being done to protect our natural resources for the future. The concept has already proved hugely popular in the food community, attracting attention from some of London’s most celebrated chefs such as Tomos Parry of Brat, Isaac McHale of Clove Club, and Santiago Lasta and Douglas McMaster of soon to be opened Kol and Silo respectively. In addition to the more high profile names, and without active promotion, word has spread and requests poured in from many other chefs keen to support Forgotten Fish. The only thing restricting sales and growth until now has been the availability of ‘waste’, and resources and time to upscale the project. 

The opportunity here lies in the fact that there is no shortage of waste, just a lack of systems in place to capitalise on it. By working closely with wholesalers, processors, fishermen and chefs, and reconsidering the conventions of processing and selling fish, the project could save a large amount of our catch from becoming waste, creating revenue and jobs in the process. 

The statistics show what could be done on a wider scale if success was proven at a local level, and the opportunity for Newlyn to be a leader in implementing such change could be a huge boon to the status of the port. Forgotten Fish so far has reclaimed and sold around 700k of fish, all of which would have been waste, in just 7 months of operation, with very little resources, one employee working part time, and the ‘waste’ from just one medium sized processor. With the aim of raising this figure to one tonne within the first year, a powerful statement could be made regarding the possibility further research and resources could offer, offering real hope for change and setting an example for the industry to follow.

This is blue sky thinking, and there would no doubt be barriers to making it reality, but given the potential here for flavour, and revenue, perhaps kokotxas should become a staple of the Cornish hake fishery?

EU rules of origin in seafood.

The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) came in to force at 11pm on 31 December 2020. The TCA offers zero tariffs for seafood traded between the EU and the UK provided they meet specific rules of origin.

 

 

This webinar recorded on Thursday 4 February explores the ‘rules of origin’ in the TCA and how they apply to seafood. The session considers the rules throughout the seafood product journey, from first sale, through processing to export.

It will be particularly relevant for seafood traders (importers, exporters and buyers) and seafood processors who process imported fish for export or who produce seafood for export to the EU.

The session will cover:

• Rules of origin in the TCA

• Why they matter at each stage in your supply chain

• How they apply to unprocessed and processed seafood intended for re-export

For further information visit www.seafish.org and explore our TCA web pages.

Optimizing the Norway lobster catch

 

Notus has developed a sensor to respond to the detection need of the Norway lobster fishing fleet and to know, in real time, if there is a sufficiently profitable amount of the target species in the area where it is trawling or if, On the contrary, the presence of this is so scarce that it is not worthwhile to continue working in that area, which significantly reduces fuel consumption in relation to the result obtained in the set. The entry into force of the landing obligation and the evolution of stocks in light of climate change has led the company to develop this sensor. 

"One of the measures proposed to reduce the capture of small fish, species with depleted quota and the capture of unwanted species in the trawl fishery is the use of the Crayfish Catch Sensor (Notus Echo) in the Swedish Grid" , informs the company.

"The preliminary results have been highly satisfactory both in the red prawn and Norway lobster fisheries," explains the company.

The use of Swedish Grid or Selector Grid, with vertical bars 35 mm apart and a 15 cm high opening at the bottom with a 70 mm cod-end, has been tested with very satisfactory results when combined with panels. square mesh (SMP) or SENTRA flakes.

Initially developed for the shrimp trawl fishery off the US west coast, it has been introduced with increasing success to the Norway lobster fishery in Ireland or Denmark or to the boreal shrimp fishery in Greenland .

In recent weeks, tests of the Echo de Notus Sensor have been carried out on board the M / P trawler “La Geltrú”, based in Vilanova i la Geltrú (Barcelona). For the operation of the Echo sensor, a selector grid adapted to the shape and dimensions of the net was required to be placed at the end of the rig sleeve. This grid shows large windows to allow the passage of companion species, both demersal and benthic, present in the fishing area and that are of high added value, in addition to having a part in the form of a grid necessary for the detection of the Red Shrimp in real time. Said grid is made of aluminium with a 50 mm spacing between the bars, avoiding at all times that the entire grid structure causes the cod-end meshes to close below the legal measure of 40 mm. The sensor was placed in different positions on the grid to determine the optimal sensitivity.

High performances have been achieved when the mark of the Echo sensor has been followed by turning around when it has stopped marking in a certain cast.

Cameras using wide-angle fields were placed in front of the grid to help define the results of the sensors in use . All video recordings were evaluated at sea to confirm if the prawns were hitting the grate. The camera and grid angles were readjusted as required throughout the tests.

The grid was initially placed in the lower part of the sleeve of the net. With the observations of the camera and the marks registered by the Echo sensor, it was determined that the best position of the grid is at the top since in this way the detection of crabs or other species that are captured as companion fauna is avoided. The sensitivity to noise of the Echo sensor is set to the maximum "since the shrimp produces a very slight noise as it passes through the grate", highlights the company.

Preliminary results have been highly satisfactory for both red prawn and Norway lobster fisheries," explains the company. Operational efficiency is substantially improved in real time by confirming the presence or absence of shrimp or Norway lobster during trawling. High performances have been achieved when the mark of the Echo sensor has been followed by turning around when it has stopped marking in a certain cast. "The calibration of the sensitivity of the system is adequate and the only problem that can be represented for a generalized use in the fleet is the use of the grid, essential for the operation and placement of the Echo sensor," adds the company. The design of the grid, with large windows in the lower part, allows companion species to pass through, so the capture of these species is not reduced, which helps to increase the value of the total catch.

This information was originally published in the Electronic Equipment special of the February issue of IP magazine . Access the full number 2166 here .

LANDING OBLIGATION

Demersal fish, Norway lobster (Nephrops Norvegicus) and red prawn (Aristeous Antennatus) are the most valuable species caught by the Spanish fleet, both in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean. Optimising rig setup can be of great help.

In its 2018 report "Impacts of climate change on fisheries and aquaculture", FAO highlights how changing the type of fishing gear from single to multiple gear with two or four nets in the crustacean fishery results in significant fuel savings . Multiple nets are the types of nets most commonly used in the fishery for crustaceans such as Norway lobster, prawn or shrimp in most of the world except for Spain, as twin-nets are prohibited. The FAO report also describes how fisheries instrumentation development can improve energy efficiency in well-managed fisheries. Detection equipment and catch sensors also reduce fishing time and fuel consumption. "Even so, their use has traditionally been restricted to catching fish rather than catching crustacean species since they are more difficult to detect and discern," the company indicates.

In February 2020 the Irish Fishery Product Development Agency (BIM) published the “ Guide on Technical Solutions to Reduce Unwanted catches”. The landing obligation is initially implemented through discard plans that have very detailed requirements for demersal fisheries in North Western waters. These include survival and minimum exemptions that allow continued discards and gear measures aimed at avoiding unwanted catches during fishing. The new measures on gear are also implemented through other legislation, such as corrective measures under the EU Annual Regulations on Fishing Possibilities.

Many of the solutions developed in Ireland are included in this EU legislation which greatly helps with industry adoption and implementation.

Hake netter Ajax steams from Brest to Newlyn in south easterly gale.

 

After fishing south of Mounts Bay for hake the netter Ajax decided to land her trip straight to the French market at Brest which involved a 100 mile steam back in an easterly then south easterly gale making for 12 hours of non-stop rock ' roll for Chunky and the boys...

and things weren't any better by the time they reached Newlyn - after a three hours dodging in the bay to wait for the tide to flood enough before they sped in through the gaps...

to find a berth, preferably one with fenders.