Fine #FishyFriday morning in Newlyn.

Always good to see those contrails high in the sky over the harbour, a sure sign of warm weather and sunshine for the coming weekend...

looks like these guys got themselves some sunburn...

head-on monk, must be another Scotsman landing to the market...

more red mullet...

and seasonal John Dory...

though it's early days yet for any big landings...

a good shot of whiting from the prawn boat...

and a good run of megs...

to go with even more haddock...

the quays are packed with boats over the big spring tide...

last of the hake for the week...

a brace of specimen cuttles...

ad a handful of bass...

to go with some still elusive line caught mackerel...

monster Mediterranean octopus...

just a few of the prawn fleet at rest...

a daring-duo indeed...

it's time for the lighthouse to get a paint job...

as a visiting German yacht leaves, 

followed by some very much looking forwards to the start of this year's bluefin tuna season...

some of the Twilight's deck gear is getting the once-over

two visiting prawn boats in the harbour for the first time, the Jacqueline Anne FR243

and FR70, the Odyssey.

 

World Fishing Day at the memorial, Newlyn.

 

The fishermen know that the sea is dangerous and the storm terrible. But they have never found these dangers sufficient reason for remaining ashore.​ ​

Vincent van GOGH

Hydrogen power: the future of fishing? New report compares alternative fuel sources for UK fleet

Fisheries Innovation & Sustainability (FIS) has unveiled its latest report taking a practical look at decarbonising the UK fishing fleet, this time comparing hydrogen fuel as an option to deliver net-zero fishing vessels. Produced by experts at Macduff Ship Design, and with support from Marine Fund Scotland, the research provides detailed vessel specifications, and - by drawing comparisons with previous research into the opportunities offered by battery-electric power, methanol, and liquified natural gas options - calls for crucial information to help fishing businesses stay safe and competitive as net zero deadlines approach.

With the net-zero commitments of 2045 for Scotland and 2050 for England on the horizon, this hydrogen-focused report builds on the momentum generated by FIS during previous stages of this project, including identifying critical barriers to achieving net zero emissions, paving the way for the development of six unique, alternatively-powered vessel designs.

This ‘Stage 3 Concept Design Project’ introduces three more innovative vessel designs, powered by hydrogen. By comparing the new specifications with a diesel ‘parent vessel’, and with previous ‘Stage 2’ designs under the same project, the research offers insights into the financial and operational implications of hydrogen as a fuel source for different vessel types, and different fishing patterns.

Duncan Boag, Naval Architect at Macduff Ship Design, emphasised the significance of these designs, stating, "These new designs for hydrogen-fuelled vessels represent another important step in mapping out the practicalities of the net zero transition for the UK fishing fleet. Hydrogen has promise for fishing vessels with relatively short operational cycles, and can extend the range in comparison to battery electric versions. In general, the hydrogen power option means a reduction in both hold space and duration of the fishing cycle. In instances where this reduced operation aligns with an owner’s requirement, a hydrogen solution may emerge as a competitive alternative to other fuel options. The new hydrogen designs are all viable from a development perspective, but they each pose technical, regulatory, and financial challenges for the industry that must be addressed."

Taking the unique requirements of various fishing vessel types into account, and despite challenges such as increased complexity and reduced range compared to other fuel options, hydrogen remains an attractive option in the future due to its anticipated low cost and widespread availability compared to other alternative fuels.

Executive Director of FIS, Kara Brydson, underscored the importance of addressing such barriers, stating, 

"This programme of work is right at the core of FIS’ mission, helping UK fishing stay safe and competitive as it adopts alternative fuels to catch low carbon, nutritious seafood. The detail can seem overwhelming when there are so many variations in vessel type and fishing activity around our coast - that’s why we chose to dive in with direct comparisons to active vessels, and explore all possible impacts of business viability, safety, and feasibility from a regulatory and infrastructure perspective. Fishing vessel owners are forward looking, but they’re also practical people who want answers on future fuel costs, availability, and access.”

To support UK fishing vessel owners in transitioning away from fossil fuel diesel, the report introduces a roadmap, identifying essential short, medium, and long-term actions. These recommendations range from studies on future fuel infrastructure to collaborative projects building vital demonstrator vessels.

“We’ve outlined steps to help fishing vessel owners make informed choices on this transition, in a relevant timeframe. Brydson comments, “There’s an urgency to this - vessels being built right now will still be fishing as we hit decarbonisation deadlines, so we need practical details of what must happen, and in what order, to help the UK seafood industry plan from here to net zero.

Busy start to the month of May in Newlyn and the first #FishyFriday of the month.

Big boats, big gear, big fishing...

plus the biggest crabbers working in the area...

off with the trawls, on with the dredges, its scallop season for some...

let the sparks fly...

the newest Twilight undergoing preparations for sea and a new career with the firm...

fine weather craft...

not so fine weather, taking all precautions when you fish places like the Porcupine Bank to the west of Ireland where the rogue waves are bigger then anything yuou see in the North ea...

but right now it's time to get the week's catch ashore...

heading for a berth...

Intuition on the slip...

just a few in port this evening...

including the Vision V...

homeward bound...

the Guardian at the end of a day's work...

adds her fish to an already busy market...

fish stacked to the doors...

just as well there are a few turbot and monk about...

as hake seem to have moved well offshore...

more turbot...

in addition to the prawn catch, the visiting boats land plenty of other fish John Dory....

and haddock...

and red mullet...

while the handliners are finding better marks of mackerel as the tide jumps...

there was the one big bass haul...

and a good few boxes of witches to add to the mix...

another batch in to land...

and fill the market...

and trade with spiders is the current trade for shellfish.

 

Imperative we don't repeat 'boom or bust!'

These articles in Fishing News bring to the for the current state of species management in the UK. Crawfish, up until a couple of years ago not seen on the fish markets of Cornwall since the late 1970s have made a comeback - it took 50 years from when they were totally overfished by the use of tangle nets.

As Dr Bannister says, progressives in the industry are wide awake to the fact that the cycle of boom and bust could happen all over again.

Hopefully, lessons form the past now have a chance to be learnt from and acted on for the long term benefit of all.

Your thoughts/ National Grid Subsea Cable Routes

National Grid are wanting to reach out to the fishing industry to help determine which subsea cable routes they choose for 3 offshore wind farms by gathering information on which areas would impact you the least and what mitigation could be used for particular methods of fishing. 

Please see the text from them below and then either reply to this email or contact them directly at box.offshorecoord@nationalgrideso.com if you would like to hear more or provide information.

 

On behalf of Great Britain’s Electricity System Operator. We are leading on the initial design phase for cable routes for floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea and are interested in understanding how this could impact the local fishing industry.

 

The government is planning to build windmills in the Celtic Sea to create clean energy. These windmills will be big and will float on the water! To get the energy from the windmills to homes and businesses, they need to connect them to land with special cables that go under the sea.

They're still figuring out the best places to put these cables. They want to make sure they don't cause problems for people who fish in that area.

Right now, they have information about offshore fishing boats, but they need to know more about smaller and inshore ones too. They'd really appreciate any information you can share about where the smaller fishing boats work in the Celtic Sea. This will help them pick the best cable routes that won't get in the way of fishing.

If you have any information to share, they'd be happy to chat with you more about it!

 

ICES rectangles: 29E4, 30E4, 30E5, 31E3, 31E4, 31E5, 31E6, 32E4, 32E5, 32E6

 

 

 

As we ask more question over the next month we would like to present our findings and discuss our evaluations. If you would be interested in hearing more, we’d really like to hear from you. You can do this in two ways, either by replying to this email or contacting us directly at box.offshorecoord@nationalgrideso.com