Sardines galore in Newlyn!

It's an early start taking ice for the bluefin tuna boat, Prospector...

as the first of the sardine boas sets up to land at he fish market...

the morning's auction had a good selection of fosh from the beam trawler Cornishman...

which inlcuded some good looking fkats...

and livers...

plenty of big haddock from the netters like the Ocean Breeze...

and cuttles from the beamer...

they're still about...

not so many mackerel though...

but some good shots of line caught squid...

and bass...

there's fresh and there's blood-red fresh...

those pesky dogs are everywhere and impossible to avoid...

hake were plentiful...

as were beam trawl red mullet...

now this specimen was a different kettle of fish - thought to be a member of the jack family = it might look like a member of the tuna family but is in fact a member of the caraingidae not scombridae like mackerl and tuna from Florida!..

so much so that the bible of all saltwater fish bibles had to be consulted - without a definitive answer - even had Lionel flummoxed!..

more hake from the Ocean Pride...

Britannia V...

and Stelissa...

and Ajax...

cracking Cornish plaice...

how about that for a fat sardine?!!...

from the Charlotte Care...

plenty more from the Mayflower...

and Serene Dawn...

Golden Harvest...

and Lyonesse...

as the sun comes up...

keeping an eye on proceedings......

as the morning's work...

is brailed ashore and into the waiting tubs...

all the action in a morning time-lapse - keep an eye out for the seal enjoying a freebie breakfast!

UK secures £970 million of fishing opportunities for 2024 - more detail on zero TAC for pollack.

UK fishing fleet to have access to 750,000 tonnes of fishing opportunities in 2024 and total value of fishing opportunities increases from £900 million in 2023

The UK fishing industry will have access to 420,000 tonnes of fishing opportunities worth up to £700 million after agreements were reached with the EU and Norway, the UK Government has announced.

This brings the total fishing opportunities secured for the UK fleet in 2024 in the main negotiating forums to 750,000 tonnes – 80,000 tonnes more than in 2023 - worth up to £970 million based on historic landing prices.

The deal with the EU has secured UK fishermen access to opportunities of 130,000 tonnes for 2024, worth up to £340 million.

The trilateral deal with the EU and Norway secures access to opportunities of 290,000 tonnes of North Sea stocks, worth around £360 million.

This is on top of 330,000 tonnes, worth around £270 million, from catch limits agreed earlier in the year on widely distributed stocks with coastal States in the northeast Atlantic.

As a result of quota share uplifts agreed in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK has up to 120,000 tonnes more quota from the 2024 negotiations than it would have received as an EU Member State.

In the fourth year of the UK operating as an independent coastal state in the negotiations, catch levels were agreed for over 80 important total allowable catches (TACs). This included key commercial stock across the industry, including northern shelf cod, North Sea saithe, and Nephrop stocks in the Celtic/Irish Sea.

 

Pollack

The Delegations took note of the ICES zero-catch advice for pollack for 2024. Conscious that there are no catch scenarios that would rebuild the stock above Blim by 2025, the Delegations have considered the non-zero catch options provided by ICES, in order to avoid a choke effect that would lead to the premature closure of other demersal fisheries where pollack is caught as a bycatch. 

The Parties agreed to set a bycatch TAC of 925t for 2024, in line with the total commercial catch option (8) which would allow a 20% increase in the spawning stock biomass (SSB) in 2025 compared to 2024. The Parties agreed to work together in the SCF, including the possibility of making a joint request to ICES regarding identification and quantification of bycatch, and separately the development of a roadmap to support a future benchmark, leading to an improved assessment of the stock. 

In request, the Parties will also seek advice on potential refinements, including the incorporation of recreational catches. While the current advice on fishing opportunities for pollack in areas 6 and 7 for 2024 has been shown to be robust to a range of assumptions of recreational catch levels, the Delegations acknowledged that ICES note that recreational catches are likely to be a large component of the total catches. The Parties therefore agreed to increase their shared understanding of recreational pollack fishing in ICES area 6 and 7 and its impact on fishing mortality, with a view to the development and introduction (subject to each Party’s respective internal processes) where appropriate of proportionate, effective, and nondiscriminatory limits for recreational fishing that are likely to reduce fishing mortality. The Parties agreed to take

8 - ICES. 2023. EU standing request on catch scenarios for zero-TAC stocks 2023: pollack (Pollachius pollachius) in subareas 6–7 (Celtic Seas and the English Channel). Report of the ICES Advisory Committee, 2023. ICES Advice 2023, sr.2023.09f, https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.advice.24558280 

Special conditions, flexibilities

a) The Parties agreed the special conditions, flexibilities and footnotes applicable to each stock, set out in Annex 1.

b) Acknowledging previous commitments by the Parties for stocks listed in Annex

1 where geographic flexibility is provided for, the Parties are committed to ensuring appropriate safeguards are in place that ensure its application meets clear management objectives - such as managing choke - and does not result in a detrimental alteration in fishing effort or in depleted bycatch stocks, including no undesired increase in fishing mortality or impediment to the recovery of the bycatch stocks.

In particular:

i. The Parties will, where appropriate, implement robust monitoring or reporting arrangements for Annex 1 stocks, where geographic flexibilities are provided for and report back via the SCF, and will work via the SCF to consider more broadly the use of geographic flexibility for Annex 1 stocks.

ii. The Parties agreed that because geographic flexibility could result in effort displacement between areas, safeguard measures may be required in order to protect depleted stocks. The Parties agreed that safeguards should be established that would limit the amount of quota that can be transferred in situations where the donor TAC is substantially larger than the recipient TAC, including the suspension of such flexibilities.

c) The Delegations exchanged data on the utilisation of inter-stock and interspecies and partially exchanged data on inter-area flexibilities. The Parties 10

agreed to continue to review, via the SCF, the relevant flexibility footnotes in Annex 1 with a view to consensual revision where considered necessary in order to avoid significant risks to sustainability. Further to paragraph 1 j) (Deepsea stocks), this would include a review of the provisions for deep sea stocks, recognising the vulnerable nature of these species. Future footnotes should also be considered where appropriate.

d) Without prejudice to the review process set out above, the Parties agreed to continue the suspension of the interspecies flexibilities for Western horse mackerel in 2024, as the stock continues to receive zero-catch advice from ICES and continues to be a by-catch stock in 2024.

e) The Parties agreed that the herring (3a) flexibility into United Kingdom waters

of Area 4, which is included in Table 4 of Annex 1, is granted for 2024. Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer said:

"These significant deals give UK fishermen access to important fish stocks worth £970 million and take advantage of our position outside the EU to independently negotiate in our fishing fleets best interest."

"They are based on the latest scientific advice and support a sustainable, profitable fishing sector for years to come while continuing to protect our marine environment and vital fishing grounds."

Sustainability has been at the heart of the UK’s approach to negotiations, pushing for decisions based on the best available science to protect key stocks and support the long-term viability of the UK fishing industry. Advice from scientists at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) is the starting point for the UK’s approach and, where possible, catch limits have been set at or within these advised levels.

A provisional estimate is that the same number of jointly managed stocks have been set in line with or lower than the levels advised by ICES scientists compared to last year, despite challenging advice for a number of stocks. A full and independent review of the sustainability of negotiated outcomes will be published early in the new year.

The outcome of annual fisheries negotiations will be published in the Secretary of State determination of fishing opportunities for British boats by the end of the year.

Further information

The Agreed Records for the negotiations can be seen here:

UK and EU bilateral negotiation

UK, EU and Norway trilateral negotiation

As a result of quota share uplifts agreed in the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK has more quota from these negotiations than it would have received with its previous shares as an EU Member State.

Values based on full uptake of fishing opportunities.

Bilateral fisheries negotiations between the UK and Norway and those between the UK and the Faroe Islands are currently on-going. 

Throughout the negotiations, the UK Government has worked closely with the Devolved Administrations to ensure the benefits of the negotiations are spread across the UK. For example, Scottish fishermen will benefit from quota for Northern shelf cod, Welsh fishermen will benefit from a rolled over access measures in bass, and fishermen from Northern Ireland will benefit from increased quota for Nephrops.


Outcome of UK/EU bilateral negotiations

This deal set catch limits of around 70 total allowable catches (TACs). The agreement also commits the UK and EU to work together to provide more sustainable fisheries management, including to review the effectiveness of existing measures to protect the recently reopened spurdog fishery.

The agreement also includes a by-catch only total allowable catch for pollack, following ICES advice published earlier this year. The government recognises the impact of this on sections of the UK fleet and has been engaging regularly with the south-west to explore potential mitigations.

Outcome of UK/EU/Norway trilateral negotiations

This deal agreed catch limits on six North Sea fish stocks including cod, haddock and herring and further stocks in other waters around the UK.

Bluefin in the news.

It took a while, but BBC Spotlight finally caught up with the news that Bluefin tuna are being landed commercially in the Southwest. The fishery is, as fisherman Andrew Pascoe says, probably the most tightly regulated in the UK.  It was good to hear Charles Clover give support to the fishery in its present state - where fishing sustainably is the key to a secure fishery in the future.

Crawfish - Call for evidence!

CRAB AND LOBSTER FISHERIES WITHIN THE CORNWALL IFCA DISTRICT: UPDATE ON CALL FOR EVIDENCE 

In autumn 2021, Cornwall Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority Cornwall (IFCA) sent a questionnaire to all 270 of its Lobster, Crawfish & Crab Permit byelaw permit holders, seeking their views on what they felt was the state of the crustacean fisheries in the Cornwall IFCA district.

The most common theme in the questionnaire responses was that fishing effort was too high and needed to be addressed to ensure the long-term viability of inshore fishing for crustaceans and by association, the coastal communities that rely on these, mostly single handed, inshore commercial vessels.

Building on the results of that questionnaire, Cornwall IFCA carried out a further call for evidence of, not only its permit holders, but other businesses and individuals directly involved in the crustacean fishery. The aim of this call for evidence was to gather views on a range of management measures that could be considered to address the concerns, previously stated by stakeholders, about the impacts of high levels of fishing effort.

The call for evidence ran between 17 May – 14 June 2023 and an encouraging number of responses were submitted. Although the majority of responses were from active fishers, responses were also received from fishing representatives, processers, wholesalers and restaurateurs.

The two key fishing effort management measures which respondents felt were the most important to ensure the future of the inshore fishery, were a limit to the number of pots able to be used in the fishery and a reduction in the maximum vessel size permitted to fish for crabs and lobsters in the Cornwall IFCA district.

74% of respondents wanted Cornwall IFCA to reduce the maximum vessel size to remove what they consider to be unsustainable crab and lobster fishing practices from the inshore zone. 69% of the respondents wanted Cornwall IFCA to reduce the number of pots in use in the fishery by setting a maximum number that each vessel can use to fish for crabs and lobsters.

Many of the responses to the consultation expressed concerns about the impact that large vessels, that can stay at sea for several days and in poor weather, are having on the livelihoods of more traditional, small-scale fishing operators, with some stating that they had been effectively forced to give up fishing.

Other fishing effort control mechanisms which Cornwall IFCA also sought views on included closed periods and a days at sea limit.

Following discussion of the report at the Cornwall IFCA Authority meeting on 15 December, officers will begin the process of developing the measures called for by stakeholders to ensure the sustainability and long-term future for inshore crab and lobster fishing and the numerous coastal communities that rely on these important stocks.

Click here to read the full report.

Fine start to #FishyFriday in Newlyn.

Big clouds pervade a big sky this morning...

but no big landings of fish to speak of, with just the one trip being landed from the beam trawler, Billy Rowney...

which included several tons of cuttles...

along with pollack...

scampi tails...

plaice...

and the staple diet of beam trawlers, Dover sole...

a few boxes of sardines came from the Serene Dawn...

and bass came from a dozen or so inshore boats taking advantage of some good marks...

the auction was all over well before 7am and fish whisked away post-haste to buyers' premises...

the only netter in port was the Rachel of Ladram with her gear on the quay ready for

the crew to take on board...

yet another relic from the past trawled up...

heading in from the gaps, young Tom Pascoe brings in the Charlotte Clare...

and, waiting on the quayside ready to catch the mood of the morning, was local boy made good, cinematographer Josh Richards, currently back 'home' from LA where he now lives...

camera in hand busy scoping the landing action of Tom...

and his trusty crew...

as they put ashore a full trip of sardines...

sometimes a phone will do the job just as well...

as the fish are iced...

into tubs...

in order to keep them in the best possible condition...

from their short journey, the boat having sailed at 5am this morning...

and now with all three tanks full, there's a few hours work yet to land the trip...

under watchful eyes of the ver-hungry gull population...

before the tubs are picked up by forklift...

and taken to the waiting lorry...

a sardine boat of yore, the Barnabas by Tim Hall, is on display in the Jupiter Gallery...

along with a classic Robert Jones seascape.

Plagued with dogs - the reality.

The Kelly of Ladram is a Newlyn based netter that fishes primarily for hake. Skipper Alan Dwan has made his reputation fishing for these fine fish. Skippers have limited control over the type of fish they catch. For some boats, like the pelagic fleet, targeting specific fish is more straightforward - as experienced skippers they have learned to recognise the kind of fish below the boat from the image on their electronic fish-finding screens like echo-sounders and sonar. Boats like the Kelly of Ladram target bottom dwelling fish and the skill of the skipper is finding the right kind of ground at the right time of year with the right tide and weather conditions - and even then, what fish swim into the nets is still largely chance. In 2022 Cefas launched an app for skippers to report their tussles wuth dogfish while at sea. The pioneering technology will allow skippers to report bycatch and plot routes to avoid areas of high spurdog density – all in one place.

Which is where the issue of dogfish - or more accurately - spur-dogfish - become an issue for skippers. It is only in recent years that a fixed number of boats were allowed to land the dogfish they caught - and even then limited to 1 ton per month. The rules were further relaxed at the start of this year to include other vessels. The problem with spurdogs is that they sometimes swim in concentrated 'packs' - and when that happens netters (and trawlers) don't just catch a few they can catch tons. When that happens the nets used, be they gillnet or trawl can be severely damaged - something that no skipper wants as nets are expensive and the time taken to repair or replace the damaged gear can be excessive, especially if repairing the damage is needed.

This is the irony of the situation. Spurdogs do not fetch much money on the ,market - certainly not enough to make it worthwhile ignoring the cost of the damage and effort needed when there are a lot on the ground - which is why you see text messages from skippers like Alan posting his 'office' view with a message home like the one below...

 

Back in the late 1970s and early 80s many of the Newlyn long-line fleet targeted dogs - they followed the packs as they travelled northwards and based themselves first in Milford and then Holyhead to fish off the Isle of Man. The difference in those days was that longlines, unlike nets, are not damaged by targeting dogs so the fishery was both viable and sustainable.

For a short time, as more and more boats in the longline fleet changed to multi-mono nets the packs of dogs were targeted by the smaller netters - even though the toll on the gear (and the crew when picking out) was high. At one time, the entire length of the Mary Williams quay, was covered with spurdogs landed in 100st piles. That week the 37' tosher Boy Gary broke the port record when skipper John Thomas made over  £37,000.