Mounting concerns from industry - 2025 fisheries agreement negotiations at a standstill!

 In the latest statement from CFPO Chairman, Paul Trebilcock: It comes as there are mounting concerns from industry that there are zero signs an agreement is imminent over negotiations for a UK/EU fisheries agreement for 2025.

Fine weather and the entire fleet is all at sea from Newlyn!

 

No rain, the morning sky is heavy with cloud, but when the St Georges leaves the quay there won't be a single boat over 12m in the harbour - the entire fleet is at sea this morning,...

yesterday, the inshore boats made the most of the break in the weather and picked up the nrmal fayre for this time of year including ray...

including a nice big blonde for young Roger N...

bass...

squid...

and brill should make good money this morning...

with supplies of fish adversely affected by the weaver the length of the UK...

shots of squid have been a feature of beam trawl landings of late they are everywhere including in the Helford and Fal estuaries and Brixham harbour......

pelagic fish like mackerel...

are fair game for these fish which, according to those who have been catching and gutting them at sea this season tell, they will eat anything that they can get down their gullets...

even bass apparently which leads some to suggest that they pose a very real threat to stocks of inshore fish as they are not afraid to venture close inshore as the fishermen who work from the Helford river will attest to.....

away goes Mr Tonkin with his morning's purchases...

he might be SWHA tag number 2 but he was number one bass man yesterday...

mackerel by the thousand...

the market at dawn...

with lorries-in-waiting...

yet another fender bites the dust, mainly due to the action of gribble work, starved to death woth no wooden hulls to chew on these days......

last of the season's yachts, en passant.

So, you want to be a fishermean?

 

Download the application form here!

The Seafish three-week Introduction to Commercial Fishing course is for new entrants to the fishing industry. The course consists of two weeks of shore-based training (covering health and wellbeing, safety, gear and catch handling, net mending, rope work and navigation, finances and tax) and one week of mandatory safety courses (Sea Survival, Fire Fighting, First Aid, Health and Safety). We also cover the Seafish Basic Fishing Vessel Stability and Engineering courses.

Immediately following this course new entrants are qualified and can look for berths on commercial fishing vessels usually as a freelance share fisherman.

This induction course will suit both youngsters looking for a career at sea in the fishing industry and older candidates who are looking for a career change and interested in commercial fishing as an occupation.

Cost: A Seafish Training Grant is available to eligible candidates who are at least 15 years old and have no previous fishing experience. You can call us to discuss this and make an application or click here to Download the Application Form.

 

We usually run this 3 week course in July and October

If you wish to start a career at sea commercial fishing in the meantime, you will need to complete the four mandatory basic safety courses first – links are at the bottom of this page.

Course Aim

The aim of this three week course is to provide new entrants to the fishing industry the basic skills to begin working at sea in a safe and useful manner

More specifically the course objectives are:

To reduce accidents amongst new entrants and better prepare them for work at sea.

To give a better understanding of operational practices in every day fishing operations, including mechanical handling (such as winches), to create a safer workplace.

To equip new entrants with the basic skills needed to enable them to positively contribute to the daily work routines and tasks associated with working as part of a team on the deck of a fishing vessel.

Course Content

This course is a collection of the units listed below.

Onboard Fishing vessel operations

Ropes, knots and fishing gear

Net mending and gear making

Introduction to watch keeping and navigation

Basic engineering

Fishing vessel stability

Care of the catch

Introduction to food hygiene

Finances and tax for fishing

Career Plan

Mandatory basic courses

Basic Sea survival

Basic Health and Safety

Basic First Aid

Basic Firefighting

For more information, to attend the taster session or apply for a place on the course:

01736 364324

info@seafoodcornwalltraining.co.uk

Download the Application Form

Cornish fishermen - Your Fisheries Management Plans reminder!

Skates & Rays FMP Newlyn 27th November

Don’t forget the FMP sessions next week. Please come along if you can. You only need to sign up on Eventbrite for the sessions in Brixham and Newlyn, the rest you can just drop in to.

 

Tuesday 26^th November

• Brixham Sprat session - BTA Office – 12.15 – 2.15. Link to sign up:  FMP consultation event- North Sea and Channel sprat FMP (Brixham) Tickets, Tue, Nov 26, 2024 at 12:15 PM | Eventbrite 

• Brixham Skates & Rays session – BTA Office – 2.30 – 4.30. Link to sign up: FMP consultation event- skates and rays FMP (Brixham) Tickets, Tue, Nov 26, 2024 at 2:30 PM | Eventbrite 

 

Wednesday 27^th November

• Mevagissey drop in session – Activity Centre – 09.30 – 11.30

• Newlyn Skates & Rays session – CFPO Office – 2.30 – 4.30. Link to sign up:  FMP consultation event- skates and rays FMP (Newlyn) Tickets, Wed, Nov 27, 2024 at 2:30 PM | Eventbrite 

 

Thursday 28^th November

• Padstow drop in session – Lobster Hatchery – 10 – 12
• Ilfracombe drop in session – Training room beside the Harbour Office – 3 – 5

 

Friday 29^th November

• Plymouth drop in session – PTA Auction room –12 – 2

 

Surf's up in the graveyard!

 It's a little bit 'dirty' according to some...

but the Meadery man is prepared to give it a go...

and there's a Weetabix rider too!

A Roadmap to End Overfishing & Restore Life to UK Seas

 

Mission Regeneration: A Roadmap to End Overfishing & Restore Life to UK Seas Overfishing is harming marine wildlife in the UK from Oceana.

• The dire state of UK’s fish populations along with a chaotic and unjust approach to catch quotas means a radically new approach to overfishing is needed to boost ocean health and coastal economies.

 

• We propose a range of measures including establishing a legally binding deadline on overfishing; banning supertrawlers; safeguarding marine protected areas; and making fishing quotas fair.

 

• Eight in ten Brits are concerned about the impacts of declining fish populations on ocean wildlife such as seabirds and dolphins, polling revealed, and 78% backed our calls for stricter limits on catches in UK seas, in line with what scientists say is sustainable.

Following Oceana’s 2023 report showing that half of the UK’s key fish populations were either overfished or critically low, the charity has launched a roadmap to ending overfishing and restoring ocean health.

After speaking to small-scale fishers, academics, and environmentalists from around the UK, the charity developed Mission Regeneration: A roadmap to end overfishing and restore life to UK seas for a fishing sector based on the principles of science, fairness, resilience, transparency and respect.

For each of the five core principles, we provide time-bound actions for government to take. By the end of 2025, the government should have made a legally binding, science-led deadline to end overfishing, along with a ban on ‘supertrawlers’ over 100 metres long, which hoover up vast quantities of ocean life.

The resilience of UK seas in the face of other serious threats, such as the climate crisis and pollution, is also vital and requires measures to rejuvenate and protect ocean wildlife, such as urgently banning destructive bottom-trawl fishing in marine protected areas.

The government must also act to level the playing field so that those that fish with nature, rather than against it, are rewarded with a greater share of quota and more taxpayer money goes towards sustainable practices.

As well as the specific measures that are the building blocks of ending overfishing, the government will also need to organise itself differently. It must move away from siloed thinking: fishing and ocean health are not only issues for policymakers focused on environment or industry, but also climate, communities and trade.

The call for action is echoed by the UK public, according to new polling data. Eight in ten people (82%) are concerned about the impacts of declining fish populations on ocean wildlife, and the same proportion (80%) is worried that those who work in the fishing industry would lose their livelihoods if fish populations continued to fall. A total of 78% of those asked supported the government introducing stricter, science-based limits on how many fish can be caught in UK seas.

Download the report

Report | November, 2024

One in four consumers in the UK are eating less fish than two years ago

Only 1 in 5 people eating NHS recommended two portions of fish a week

One in four consumers in the UK are eating less fish than two years ago

Just 21% of the UK population are eating the NHS recommended two portions of fish a week despite growing concerns around maintaining a healthy diet, according to a new report published by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) today.

Some 80% of UK consumers said they had made changes to their diet in the past two years, with two thirds of those citing health as the main driver for doing so, according to the report - Super Seafood: Sustaining people and planet. Overall, 45% of UK respondents gave some kind of environmental reason for changing diets, demonstrating that concern for the planet, and ocean, is influencing dietary choices.

Despite the desire for healthy, sustainable diets, the report reveals that only a fifth of the UK population currently consume the NHS’ recommended two portions of fish a week (including one oily) as a good source of vitamins and minerals, as well as a means of maintaining a healthy heart. Meanwhile, more than a quarter of consumers (27%) said they now eat less fish than two years ago, with 13% saying they are eating more and almost half (48%) eating the same amount.

Of those who purchased and ate seafood over half (52%) said they would eat more fish and seafood if it cost less, whilst a third (29%) said they would do so if it was produced in a way that doesn’t harm the ocean and over a quarter (26%) citing health reasons for increasing consumption. Over one fifth of people (22%) revealed that if there was greater availability when they shop, it would also lead to them eating more.



The report concludes that, while seafood is an important source of nutrition, if governments are to deliver positive health outcomes through increased fish consumption, support for progressing sustainable fishing needs to be prioritised. Promoting and supporting the availability of sustainable options, such as those carrying the blue MSC ecolabel, to consumers is also needed. The report also highlights that over half (55%) of UK seafood consumers say seeing the MSC ecolabel would make them more likely to purchase a product, and 53% say that they are prepared to pay more for products that come from a certified sustainable fishery.

The findings come amid growing fears about the state of the ocean, and the latest figures released by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization showing more than a third of fish stocks are overfished, at 37.7%, and trending in the wrong direction This new data underscores the urgent need to accelerate progress in sustainable fisheries management. Choosing MSC certified sustainable seafood ensures that stocks are well-managed, and environmental impacts limited. In fact, the MSC estimates that by managing global fish stocks sustainably and eliminating overfishing, we could be meeting the nutritional needs of an additional 72 million people annually.

National food campaigner Henry Dimbleby, author of the UK’s National Food Strategy, co-founder of the Sustainable Restaurant Association and board member for seafood restaurant chain Rockfish, who wrote the foreword for the report, says:

“Wild-caught seafood is a nutritious, affordable and sustainable source of protein. Yet, despite the NHS recommendation to eat two portions a week[1], only 21% of Britons do[2]. As the latest scientific data on overfishing shows, we are right to be concerned about the state of our oceans and the impact increased consumption could have on further overfishing.

“However, there is a way to meet the NHS guidelines without exacerbating the problem – by managing fish stocks sustainably, based on science and choosing to eat certified sustainable fish. Nature, when supported, can rebound and flourish. Governments, businesses, and policymakers need to act to support this – and the UK must deliver on its commitments to implementing a world-leading approach to sustainable fishing.”

The report makes four key recommendations:

Food industry leaders and the UK Government should take a holistic approach to dietary recommendations that include sustainability considerations

The UK fishing industry should be enabled and empowered in the drive towards sustainability

Direct engagement with consumers should be increased and the delivery of a sustainable UK fish and seafood industry prioritised Government must deliver a world-leading approach to sustainable fishing

Over 700 fisheries around the world are currently engaged with the MSC’s sustainable fishing programme. Collectively, these fisheries provide 19% of the world’s wild marine catch. In the UK, MSC-certified fish and seafood makes up 25% of total UK landings, with more fisheries committed to achieving certification. A growing number and variety of MSC-certified seafood products and species can be found in most of the major retailers and in many restaurants across the UK. With over 1,400 different products available there are options for all budgets, from tinned sardines, to sushi and fish pies.

George Clark, Programme Director for UK and Ireland at the MSC, said: “While our report reveals there is a public willingness to change consumption habits and choose more sustainable fish and seafood, to both help the environment and maintain a healthy diet, individual responsibility can only go so far.

“There is a fantastic opportunity here to really get behind UK fishing communities and others around the globe in meeting the environmental and health expectations of consumers. Governments, businesses and industry must work together to raise the profile and grow the supply of healthy, sustainable, wild-caught fish and seafood, for consumers today and in the future.

Fish and seafood must be caught sustainably to meet the nutritional and health needs of the nation without risking further overfishing. Through collaboration and programmes like the MSC’s, we can ensure there’s more fish on our plates for generations to come.”

 In the UK, 1,378 people made up the sample, with 1,073 classified as seafood consumers.