Cornish gill net hake and the MSC.

Latest assessment news from the MSC - and esdpecially relevanmt to Newlyn and other ports with vessels fishing for hake with gill nets off the south west - read on!

The certification body, Moody Marine Ltd., has announced that the Cornish hake gill net fishery has entered full assessment. Initially Moody Marine seeks to open a dialogue with all organisations or individuals with a direct interest in the fishery.

Anyone wishing to provide comments or information to the assessment process (relevant to the status of the stock, ecosystem interactions or fishery management practices) is invited to contact Jim Andrews.

Moody Marine Ltd., has also put forward nominations for the fishery assessment team that will be responsible for assessing the Cornish hake gill net fishery against the MSC Standard.

Any stakeholder wishing to provide comments on the suitability or otherwise of any of the nominees is invited to contact Jim Andrews no later than 5pm GMT, 4th May 2010.

Fishery location
North East Atlantic, FAO statistical area 27 in management areas ICES VIIe,VIIf, VIIg, VIIh, VIIj, VIIk.

Fishing method
Bottom set gill nets.

Fishery management
The fishery is under the ultimate jurisdiction of the EU via the CFP. Measures are implemented by DEFRA and associated subsidiary organisations via quota allocations and technical regulations. Technical regulations include mesh sizes, VMS, observers, and log book reporting requirements.

Commercial market
The main market is in Europe, particularly Spain, France & the UK. Fish are sold as fresh whole gutted, fillets and steaks into retail and food service.

Assessment timeline
The assessment process is expected to take 10 months and is scheduled for completion around February 2011. Please see the download section for a detailed assessment timeline.

The target eligibility date for this fishery is the 9th June 2010.

The MSC ecolabel can only be applied to product from certified fisheries. The MSC program does allow, in certain circumstances and within strict traceability requirements, the MSC ecolabel to be applied following certification to product caught before the actual date of certification. The target eligibility date therefore represents the date from which products may become eligible to carry the MSC ecolabel, however they cannot be sold until and if the fishery is certified. The actual eligibility date will be determined if the fishery is certified to the MSC standard.

To find out more about when fish from this fishery may be sold with the MSC ecolabel, please follow this link (http://www.msc.org/get-certified/supply-chain/eligibility-dates).

Tonnage of the fishery:

In 2009 the TAC was 28,879 tonnes.

Bowls green and blue

Its not only Plymouth where the greens are handy to the sea, not that any of these chaps are about to go off and plunder the Spanish Navy.......
let's hope it was a good one.......
spring growth.......
things are looking better aboard he Excellent........
while Shaun's new cat Angels is geared up and ready to go......
time to phone home......
the quay is the place to be for a quick paint job......
and this year's in colour for anti-fouling is blue it seems.

Where have all the benches gone?

In case you thought someone was in desperate need of some garden furniture for the coming barbeque season - here is what has happened to the benches that were in front of the Mission in Newlyn:

"Following the demise of Penwith District Council, it became apparent that ownership of these benches was being denied by Cornwall Council given that their refurbishment had been carried out on an ad-hoc basis by Penwith with no identifiable budget provision.
Given their condition and the likelihood that they would further deteriorate without attention, the Town Council took the step to remove the benches most in need of attention and are currently refurbishing them. The first of the refurbished benches will be back in place this week and it is intended to complete them all on a rolling programme.
I hope this information can be relayed via the Newlyn Website and we might potentially do some PR when we have a few of them refurbished and back in place.

Kind regards,
Simon Glasson
Penzance Town Clerk

Box crab finds a new home in the Reef Aquarium, Newquay.

A rare deep water crab normally found down in the Med has been brought ashore from the netter Harvest Reaper. The crab has found a new home at Newquay's reef Aquarium.

Mackerel men make hay.

Fishing close inshore, the mackerel fleet in action.....
a welcome sight, the fleet of punts are out in force fishing, or 'wiffing' as it is known locally, for mackerel between Penlee Point and Mousehole Island.....
one junior net makers kit including mugs, time for some new gear aboard the pair team
it's even-stevens at seven all in April..........
two of the most enduring workboats in the harbour side-by-side........
she's not going to win any prizes in the beauty pageant with a front end like that.....
but with a spacious wheelhouse.....
and a huge working deck......
the twin engined Bethshan from St Ives makes a big change for the trawling father and son partnership that is Leach Senior and Junior......

she is currently being rigged out as a multi-purpose inshore boat......

girls stretch their legs aboard the gig Averack for a practice.

Misty Monday morning.

A superb shot of line caught cod from Falmouth looked stunning in Monday's early morning misty light.....
Roger on the Imogen snuck a handful of small tope in his trip over the weekend.....
the mackerel men at last have something to show for their efforts......
back in the pollack, the Sea Spray's fish gleam as ever.....
as does the boat as she manoeuvres in misty conditions.....
another Brixham beamer heads in through the gaps......
followed by mackerel man Joey......
who provides an escort......
there's plenty of new Dutch engine bits unpacked on the quay.....
while the harbour looks more like Brixham than Newlyn!

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