Sunday into Monday in Newlyn.

A fleet of big Scottish prawn boats means the local fuel company is being kept busy supplying the boats on landing day with diesel...

and an eco-friendly alternative, HVO fuel - a 100% re-cycled vegetable alternative...

plenty more HGV action down the quay as the lorries wait to load frozen langoustine from the boats...

meanwhile, taking on a more sedentary position, master sign-writer Squirrel carefully fills in the words on skipper Shane's punt Ali-Cat  as her annual refit nears completion...

while most of the netting feet are at sea the prawn fleet take advantage of the quay space to land at high water as the harbour can only accommodate modern deep draughted vessels in a relatively small area of the quays...

Sunday saw the Tranquility...

Andromeda...

 Revival...

and Daystar landing

there's a little bit of name changing going on as the replacements for these 35 year old beamers are now in action, it's now just plain Blake having lost the Admiral status while the Gordon has taken on one of the Stevenson fleet names, Twilight...

did you hear the one about the Scotsman, Cornishman and Englishman...

Monday morning's market was full of fosh from all sectors of the industry, plenty of prawn boat congers...

new season spiders...

cracking inshore red mullet...

mighty head-on monk...

John Dory...

more and more of these tasty beasts...

and bass...

cuttles...

and signs a few more mackerel have found there way closer to the shore...

beam trawl red mullet...

quality from the prawnerss...

incluing more JDs...

Dovers...

and red mullet...

young Graham poised for action...

about to whisk away these quality megrim sole...

whiting...

and haddock were plentiful again this tide...

as were these reds...

and more megs the rewrads if fishing the grounds west of Lands End for prawns are great...
 

however, the normally unseen part of the job - the hours spent with knife and needle in hand, sometimes stretching into a second day or more, that never-ending cycle of mending smashed gear...

in this case, the guys from the Ocean Vision are busy sewing up selvedges...

 to replace a huge chunk of missing net from the trawl...

or in Tom's case, measuring and splicing in the 25 fathom marks in the trawl wire that tells the man on the winch how much warp is out - normally, boats work three times the depth they are towing in...

whitefish coming ashore for the Boy Enzo...

into the waiting transport...

now it's the turn of the largest local trawler...

Crystal Sea to put their fish ashore...

that's another fender ready to go into the water to place the old gribble-worm farm...

well, yesterday was just a wind-up, it's back to normal weather-wise it seems, more wind and rain on the way says the forecast this morning;

Plymouth 

WIND Southerly or southwesterly 4 to 6, occasionally 7 in north

SEA STATE Moderate or rough

WEATHER Rain or showers

VISIBILITY Good, occasionally poor

Final #FishyFriday in April - and yes, it's raining again!

The all-important work of Cefas continues, this time, Gary is recording the size of spider crab...

using the length from the nose to the tail the carapace...

those rain clods are just not going to give us a break today it seems - which is a shame as the hugely worthwhile Porthleven Food Festival starts today, there's something there for everyone especially if fish is your dish!..

and where better to start on a FishyFriday than some wonderful ray wings...

John Dory...

tun gurnard...

or monk tails...

or maybe a dinner plate sized turbot...

although mackerel are in short supply they are making excellent money so well wrth the long hours the guys put in to catch them - but that does mean rising at 3am and making it back to the fish market around midday - that's a typical day at the office for many an inshore fisherman...

what's not to like about red mullet?..

brill don't often fill the bottom of a box, this one would feed a big guest list...

they call them 'black gold' in Brixham and judging by the number of fish tallies Falfish don't want anyone to get their hands on these beauties...

the beauty that is the bass...

and now it's time for the big clean down so out comes the pressure washer - in preparation for the arrival of the big Scottish prawn boats who will be back from their week at sea and begin landing their white fish on Sunday, it's another busy week ahead for the market!..

inshore beamers, like the New Harmony are doing okay at the moment, picking away on ground fish...

although his fishing days are largely over, John has been out catching bigger stuff...

one of the wayward fenders that found a temporary home on the South Pier, five years ago.

NAPA sounds the alarm on blue whiting at Barcelona

As members from the North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy group gather at SEG24, the supply chain sends an emphatic message: don’t gamble with the future of the feed sector.

It’s Barcelona Seafood Expo Global (SEG24) week. Among the array of exhibitors, panel discussions and side-events at the world’s largest seafood trade event, there is a consistent theme: sustainability. Seafood buyers, sellers, suppliers, campaigners, and more, gather to discuss the future of the sector, and one thing’s clear: sustainable sourcing is the foundation of that future.

Against this backdrop, one supply chain group continues to sound the alarm about the sustainability of some of northern Europe’s most prized stocks. The North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy Group (NAPA) is a pre-competitive collaboration of more than 50 supply chain businesses, representing a truly global interest in sourcing from its eponymous region. These businesses carry billions of euros of market force, and their voice has been raised with concerns about the political stalemate affecting pelagics management for the past three years. NAPA’s focus at SEG24? North East Atlantic blue whiting.

"Skretting became a founder-member of NAPA because we are determined to see progress made for the blue whiting fishery in the Northeast Atlantic. This species is essential for fishmeal production for salmon feed - and sourcing from well-managed, sustainable and certified sources is essential to our 125 yr-old business. We only buy fishmeal and oil from a certified source or a FIP, and we need to see blue whiting back on track to certification. With no sign of this, and the NAPA blue whiting FIP ending in October this year, it’s time for action — or we will be forced to stop buying from this fishery" - Leif Kjetil Skjæveland, Manager of Sustainability and Public Relations, Skretting Norway.

The NAPA blue whiting FIP sits under the MarinTrust Improver Programme and will conclude in October 2024. The ‘policy FIP’ was designed and launched to drive political momentum towards a long-term, science-based sharing agreement between Coastal States in the North East Atlantic fishery complex. With the deadline looming, NAPA members at SEG24 are engaging with salmon producers and Coastal States representatives to make explicit the consequences of inaction.

"Without a science-based sharing arrangement between Coastal States, blue whiting cannot be used for Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) feeds. At Cargill, we are obliged to source fish sustainably, just as salmon producers and other aquaculture businesses are obliged to purchase certified feed. There is very little time left for change. We are preparing for a future where we must fundamentally change the sources of marine ingredients we use.” - Dave Robb, Sustainability Lead, Cargill Aqua Nutrition Group.

NAPA continues to actively seek out Coastal States representatives for constructive and purposeful conversations to help resolve the political stalemate in the North East Atlantic region. Now working to align with businesses outside the Group - across the salmon sector - and working closely with the catching sector, too, they believe that the coalition amassing around their rallying cry will be undeniable to the politicians who, according to Leif Kjetil Skjæveland, are ‘gambling'.

"Business security, environmental sustainability, food security, and responsible ocean management: these should be political priorities that rise above a disagreement on sharing stocks. Short-term pain in the region is worth the gain in the long-term, whichever nation state you represent. The long-term gain to be achieved isn't in doubt: we have some of the most robust fisheries science in the world - we know the outcome if we act in accordance with that science. The gamble here is continuing to act as if that science is meaningless.

NAPA is here to make it clear there isn't an uncertain outcome to that gamble, because the market will move away. So, I ask: is the message from the best ocean managers in the world that we give up? That we can’t manage our industrial fisheries, so now it is free for all? Then we will lose the public trust in us managing the ocean. That is a huge risk for the business, but also for nature. Please don’t make that bet!”

Interested in joining NAPA and advocating for a sustainable future for blue whiting, mackerel and herring in the North East Atlantic?

Lend your voice to the unified voice of the marketplace: https://napafisheries.org/join-us/

'Young Fishermen Network' launches a UK first!

Great turn out of young Cornish fishermen - and encouraging to see

 the guys are not alone.

A new network has been created to support the next generation of fishermen - the first of its kind in the UK.

The Young Fishermen Network has been set up by young fishermen from Cornwall. It aims to encourage new entrants into the industry and champion career progression for existing commercial fishermen under 40. Around 60 people attended the network’s inaugural event at a net loft in Porthleven Harbour this month.

Network Coordinator, Matilda Phillips, aged 21, said: “The event was an incredible way to kick start the network and it was fantastic to see such enthusiasm in the room. From Looe to Newlyn, Cadgwith to Port Isaac, we bought together all corners of Cornwall. Strengthening fishing communities through social connection and sharing skills and experiences are part of the network’s objectives, which we certainly achieved on the day. I’m excited to see the network grow as we continue developing our plans and increasing awareness of how awesome a career fishing is.”

Hosted by the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation, the Young Fishermen Network is funded by the Fishmongers’ Company and the ROCC project.

Designed by the young fishermen themselves, the event started with workshops in net mending and rope work; led by David Warwick, the Gear Innovation Manager for Seafish and Freddie Bates, a Seafood Cornwall Training instructor.

Will Greenhalgh, aged 20, from Port Isaac, said: “I really enjoyed learning new skills and meeting like-minded young people from different fishing ports, especially as I come from a small port where there are not many young people interested in fishing.”

In the afternoon, professional chef Rupert Cooper from Philleigh Way Cookery School led the network’s first ‘Seafood Throwdown’ which saw fishermen roll up their sleeves and turn their catch into three spectacular dishes.

Mat Price, aged 18 from Cadgwith said: “My favourite part about the event was being surrounded by top lads with similar interests in a great location. I also enjoyed the seafood cook-off, it was lovely to learn new recipes that I will definitely be using next time I cook my catch.”

Are you a current young commercial fisherman? Are you interested in learning more about how to enter the industry? Head over to Instagram and follow @theyoungfishermennetwork, where you can find out more and get involved.