Ideas a-plenty from the Concarneau twinning visit to Newlyn.

With the port's largest boat leaving the harbour...

leaving just the netter, Govenek of Ladram alongside the Mary Williams pier...

as Paul Durkin, chair of the harbour commissioners welcomed, in his best French, members of the twinning teams from Concarneau and Penzance...

then it was the turn Concarneau's mayor, Marc Bigot to reciprocate, also in french, but ably translated by Penzance's mayor Stephen Reynolds...

for many years, Marc headed up the Committee de Peche and the Concarneau Maritime Museum so his knowledge and understanding of the fishing industry are second to none - the working lunch held in the harbour boardroom saw a number of fishing and heritage representatives discuss opportunities for the mutual benefit of both - on the fishing side Cornwall Sardine Management Association chair, Gus Caslake was able to explore exchange visits of sardine fishermen and, with Newlyn's FISH Trust planning on developing the old Ice Works as heritage centre, Jeanette Ratcliffe was able to share their ideas and plans to tell the story of the Newlyn's rich maritime history...

there followed a slideshow of photos, in some cases going back over 100 years, with many examples of Concarneau and other Breton boats in Newlyn and a proposition that, with the changes coming for EU vessels in 2026, an opportunity for the online auctions systems used both here and in Brittany to join forces and enable Breton (and other) boats to land in Newlyn...

before leaving, Marc (left) presented Paul Durkin with an original print by Breton artist, Olivier Lapicque depicting a fisherman holding a huge tuna - Concarneau has a fleet of tuna boats that fish around the world...

after lunch, the harbour was left all quiet save the gulls enjoying the view from the comfort of the solar panels atop the market.

After a stormy few days, it's a busy start to the week in Newlyn

Sunday afternoon and it's all eyes on the sea, another shift ended for National Coastwatch Institute member as he lowers the Cape Cornwall station flags...

looking towards a very hazy Lands End and remembering the the NCI was founded here in Cornwall by Captain Tony Starling-Lark and Newlyn fisherman, Peter Rayment who were there along with Jenny Agutter to open first watch station was at Bass Point on the Lizard in November 1994...

Monday morning in Newlyn and all is quiet...

as Stevenson's men of action spring in to action...

as the sun blasts through the heavily saturated air in the bay...

most of the fish on the market came for trip boat landings from the Billy Rowney...

head-on monk from the seiner Acionna...

John Dory from the Crystal Sea...

top quality hake from the seiner...

and some fresher then fresh congers from the big beam trawler...

inshore trawlers managed a few tows in between gale force winds over the weekend...

while the Sea Breeze landed this 204kg bluefin...

there's mackerel out there of you know where to find them...,

bass...

and red mullet too...

the other bluefin from the Elle V weight in at over 630lbs

things brightened up quickly enough...

as the fish market rush-hour got underway...

the gulls flew in looking for breakfast...

as the Nicola of Ladram landed another trip of brown crab and lobster...

while some of the fleet lay at rest.

 

As week draws to a close it's the first FishyFriday in October.

Time Tom took ice aboard the Guardian...

on a sunny Thursday...

the local gull population making the most of the solar panels on the market...

late Thursday evening and the sardine fleet find fish...

 off Mullion on the Lizard...

so it is the early hours of Friday morning before they are back in Newlyn to land...

alongside the fish market...

though for the first time we see the huge fish pump in action on the quay that...

the Pelagic marksman is now using...

all the boats land at the same time...

 to get their fish ashore and aboard the waiting transport...

now, inside the fish market the landings from many of the inshore fleet are all set for the online auction...

which starts at 6am, there are early sign of the cuttle season starting in some landings...

as ever, the inshore boats land top quality fish...

like this racking bream, but which bream species is it?..

one of three big bluefin landed that evening...

though it remains a mystery to many why they are so named as their fins are most definitely not blue...

one of the top handline men from the other Bay had a good day...

as did Cap'n Cod aboard the Butts- with Newlyn's youngest fisherman to join the handline fleet aboard Chris Morley's old boat Rachel & Paul, doing his best to out-fish the master...

yet more inshore fish, beautifully presented for auction.

Anger and frustration from fishermen as the South-west crawfish consultation results have been announced!

And the response from one crawfish fishermen. 

Concern for crawfish management back in 2022.

Behind the anger and frustration of fishermen is a growing sense that whatever they contribute by way of information and suggestions as to how best manage the fishery - the MMO does not appear to have heeded anything or be capable of acting on said advice. This and other recent fishery management decisions (eg brown crab, pollack) now cause fishermen to doubt the ability of the MMO to do nothing other then be re-active rather than proactive and to take the easy way out by appeasing a few in implementing species identified in the Fisheries Management Plans.

"On current evidence all the meetings, consultations, FMPs and workshops are frankly a waste of time unless there is political will from UK 🇬🇧 Govt to manage fisheries properly. Central to that must be steps to ensure stocks are maintained or can increase over time."

The anger and frustration are real - as are the consequences for a fishery that could be disastrous.

The MMO have said:

"Having considered the consultation responses, scientific and environmental evidence, socio-economic impacts and relevant legislation and policy, MMO will introduce a closure of the crawfish fishery for all UK and EU vessels in: 

English waters of ICES area 7 from 16 December 2024 to 31 May 2025 (inclusive). 

This closure length will protect berried and juvenile crawfish whilst balancing socio-economic considerations and allowing the shellfish industry time to adapt business processes."

Further information on a summary of responses received and reasoning behind the decision is available in the decision document.

Do you did you catch pollack in the South West?

Pollack fishing using boards

Pollack is an economically and socially important species for communities along the Devon and Cornwall coast, and has experienced a 72% decline in commercial landings over the last 20 years. A lack of evidence hampers fisheries management, so the Pollack FISP will collect vital data about pollack movement, habitat choice, populations and life history. This Marine Conservation Research Group project is to collect vital data about pollack movement, habitat choice, populations and life history using fishermen.

Run by University of Plymouth staff: Dr Emma Sheehan, Dr Thomas Stamp, Dr Rebecca Nesbit and Dr Bryce Stewart (MBA)

Data collection

Pollack will be fitted with acoustic tags, allowing their movements to be tracked using a network of receivers around the UK and Europe. Each tag continuously emits a uniquely coded ‘ping’ which can be detected by receivers on the seabed. This tracking data will reveal when and where pollack migrate, and identify habitats that are important for the fish, particularly at sensitive times such as spawning. It will also provide mortality estimates by identifying uncharacteristic absences of tagged fish. Pollack FISP

Working together

Fisheries data will also be collected by project partners. Anecdotal reports from commercial and recreational fishers have reported declining catch rates, with boats having to increase effort to capture fewer and smaller fish. To provide empirical evidence and inform future sustainable management, the project will analyse historic trends in pollack populations using catch logbooks from charter boats and records of trophy catches held at angling clubs. For the duration of the project, a consortium of charter vessels will collect Catch Per Unit Effort data.

In addition, a subsample of fish will be retained to provide biological data for stock assessment. Stomach contents will be analysed to identify prey species, and gonads will be used to calculate spawning activity. Each fish will be measured and aged, providing information on their size at different ages and at maturity.

Aims

Overall, the project will provide a strong evidence-base to inform sustainable management of pollack fisheries in the Channel. To help translate the data into policy, fishers will be interviewed to identify common concerns and ideas for fisheries-management recommendations. The project is led by Dr Emma Sheehan and post-doctoral researcher Dr Thomas Stamp from the University of Plymouth. It is supported by funding from the Defra Fisheries in Science Partnership (FISP) scheme, and delivered in partnership with the Professional Boatman’s Association, the University of York, the Marine Biological Association, the Angling Trust and Cefas. Research vessel

Professional Boatmans AssociationProfessional Boatmans Association Angling TrustAngling Trust University of YorkUniversity of York Cefas logoCefas Marine Biological Association logoMarine Biological Association University of Plymouth logoUniversity of Plymouth

Get involved with the Pollack FISP

The Pollack FISP is a true collaboration between scientists and the fishing community, so we are keen to hear from anyone who would like to get involved. We will be speaking with recreational anglers, charter skippers and commercial pollack fishers to learn more about their experiences of pollack fishing, their opinions on the current status of the stock and their views on future stock management. If you are a pollack fisher and are happy to be interviewed, please email Simon Thomas: simon.f.thomas@york.ac.uk

We are also collecting data from logbooks and trophy catch records to look for historic trends. If you have access to information that you’d be happy to share, please email Simon Thomas: simon.f.thomas@york.ac.uk Some of the fish we’ve tagged have been fitted with a yellow 'floy' tag at the base of the dorsal fin. On this tag you will see an email address (fishtagging@plymouth.ac.uk) and a tag ID number. If you catch a tagged fish, please email us with as much information as possible about when and where the fish was caught. If you’re fishing on secret marks, even just knowing this fish has been recaptured is extremely valuable to us.

There are spaces available on the RYA Yachtmaster course in October

 

Seafood Cornwall Training have spaces available on thier RYA Yachtmaster course in October. 

This is a 6 day course held in Newlyn at our training hub. The face-to-face tutored RYA course is intended for anyone wishing to safely skipper a sailing or powered craft commercially or for leisure. This is an advanced navigation course and you will need knowledge of navigation theory to Day Skipper level, or experience of navigating and managing your own vessel. You should expect to spend around 40 hours covering theory of navigation, meteorology, practical techniques for navigation, pilotage and planning for safe passages. Including fixing position, magnetic compass, tides, buoyage, lights, and pilotage. 

The course includes all the theory to progress to the practical examination for the RYA Coastal Skipper or RYA Yachtmaster Coastal/Offshore Certificates of Competency. 

☎️ 01736 364 324 📧 info@seafoodcornwalltraining.co.uk