Mighty misty Monday morning in Newlyn.

Local artist Clare Bowen up at the crack of dawn to take on the challenge of capturing a very misty morning in Newlyn...

inside the market things are a little clearer despite being filled end-to-wend with fish...

like these cracking MSC hake from the netter Ygraine...

and, unusually, a few boxes of ling...

a couple of lonely witches...

more hake from the Britannia V...

along with plenty of spurdog...

and even some horse mackerel...

more dogs...

and pollack from the Ygraine...

while top drawer fish like these red mullet...

and black bream came courtesy of a few inshore boats...

in with their usual diverse landings of fish...

there were good Dovers too...

while the flagged ex-Icelandic stern trawler, Njord Venture landed several tons of huge gilt head bream in addition to 10 tons of cuttles...

young Roger did manage a good shot of Dory over the weekend...

no sign of the mist lifting just yet...

the other netter to land, the Stelissa had a big shot of spurdogs, they are not favourites to catch as their spines do plenty of damage to the mono-nylon meshes when the crew pick out the fish...

ray frames are a staple bait for the crabbers...

seems they have almost albino-like congers up off Brixham where the Njord Venture was working...

though the ink from the cuttles plays havoc with big white fish like these turbot...

and brill...

still misty out there...

a splash of silvers kins in the handline fridge, mullet and bass up for auction...

the A team landed another big tuna...

on the market this morning...

been a long time since Cyril, brother of Bamber Gasgoine landed usrhcins on the market - he used to dive for them from his boat, the Pioneer...

imagine one of these ten foot long?..

the deepest red red gurnard, inshore fish at its best...

there's a few mackerel to be had in the bay...

the netting fleet are busy making their first landings for the tide...

even though it's hard to spot them...

always good to see students from a range of environmental courses from Exeter University and lucky enough to have the benefit of wise words from CFPo man, Andy Wheeler as they tour the harbour...

Prospector off on another BFT hunt...

it's a thumbs-up from the crabber!

 

Fine start to #FishyFriday in Newlyn

Despite the low dark clouds, it looks a promising sort of day as light starts to flood in from the east...

all the fish on this morning's market came courtesy of a single beam trawler landing from the Cornishman...

along with plenty of plaice were these lovely lemons...

and monk tails...

while handful of inshore trawlers came back with some good ray landings for the time of year...

the odd box of bass...

the one big squid - with the boats working 100mm mesh in their trawls squid landings have all but disappeared

the ever friendly conger...

autumn must be approaching as the Dory score would indicate...

monk livers are well tasty and make a great paté

more line caught bass...

and the sardines?, they keep coming...

bait for the crabbers...

a very classic yacht on the pontoons this morning.

 

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The 2024 calendar entitled ‘Hwedhla’, a Cornish verb meaning to tell stories, features poignant photography of fishermen, their boats and Cornish coastal scenes taken by photographer Chris Boulton. 

The Fishermen’s Mission calendar 2024 marks the passing months with unique imagery and authentic insights into the lives of Cornwall’s fishing community. In addition, monthly QR codes on each page will lead you to an online archive containing...

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A full story archive featuring the fishermen’s tales of life at sea, their boats, and onboard superstition, all told in their own words, And a complete photography collection featuring additional fishing scenes from the Cornish coast. 

 A4 Landscape when Folded, A3 when hanging and open - order your copiers here!

First line caught bluefin tuna landed in the top port of Newlyn.

 

Four years in the planning and the wait is over, the 'A' Team, Andrew Pascoe and skipper Adam Harvey shove off the Prospector before heading out on...

their first licensed bluefin tuna trip. The license imposes strict fishing conditions and designated landing ports, they must only use rods and lures as seen here here held up by Andrew, as agreed between fishermen in the South West Handline Fishermen's Association, Defra and the MMO...

within the first few hours they had caught - and lost - their first fish working close to the western shore of Mounts Bay so the decision was taken to steam out of the bay and the Longships lighthouse off Lands End where they sighted around 30 bluefin feeding near the surface - while trolling from rods through the school a single bluefin was caught on the brightly coloured lures - these fish require very careful handling once caught so as to maintain the highest possible quality of fish - hence the protective bag - the fish was gilled, gutted and the cavity filled with ice to cool the core of the body before being covered in more ice and sealed up inside the specially made giant holdall type bag...

once alongside the fish market...

the 92" long fish estimated, according to the MMO chart provided...

to weigh around 450-500lb...

traditionally, tuna are lifted from the boat to the quay using a strop around the huge tail fin...

providing skipper Adam (left) and crew Andrew with a record of their acheivment...

within minutes of being landed...

on to a pallet...

the fish was weighed in at 270kg...

and iced heavily in readiness for the fish auction. The fish actually weighed 245kg and made a sale price of £14.23 per kilo which works out at £3, 486. Two other SWHFA members were also successful, one landed a 195kg in Hayle and the other member landed in Looe with a modest 48kg fish. 

Tuna fishing globally is controlled by the International Commission for the Control of Atlantic Tuna (ICAAT). They control tuna quota internationally. Their science and stock assessment controls all Bluefin Tuna (BFT) Quota. A fisheries plan was submitted to them before license authorisation could be issued. The BFT have been increasing in UK waters for 8 years and the fishery has been opened because stock is so good. Bluefin tunas have been caught in the UK since the 1930's with the Tunny Club of Great Britain founded in Scarborough in 1933. There is also an MSC bluefin tuna fishery for Atlantic bluefin. Inshore boats catching with hook and line a small number of mature adult tuna on a very limited, well managed quota with a strict limit on licence numbers. As with other commercial fishing activities SWHFA and the CSMA promotes sustainable fisheries based around best scientific advice.

Top handline fisherman Andrew is no stranger to catching tuna, him and brother David, both schoolboys at the time, spent two days luring and eventually catching this big-eyed tuna in Newlyn harbour back in 1985...

 and, at 66lb it remains the UK record...

its seems the Pascoe fishing genes get about a bit, here is Donna Pascoe in NZ after landing her record breaking 907lb Pacific bluefin in 2020 off Auckland.

Owing to the late approval from Defra and the MMO, the ten licensed boats, four of them in the SWHFA have just over seven weeks until November the 30th to catch the 30.9 tons they have been allocated between them. The season was officially opened on August the 1st this year and will do so again next.