Welcome to Through the Gaps, the UK fishing industry's most comprehensive information and image resource. Newlyn is England's largest fish market and where over 50 species are regularly landed from handline, trawl, net, ring net and pot vessels including #MSC Certified #Hake, #Cornish Sardine, handlined bass, pollack and mackerel. Art work, graphics and digital fishing industry images available from stock or on commission.
A very inshore #FishyFriday today - that meant with just the one beam trawler landing...
and five inshore trawlers the market was devoid of fish by 7:30am...
here, the visiting scalloper Manx Ranger lands her bags of scallops by the fish market...
bound away, the aptly named, Buoy's Toy...
after a week prawning on the Smalls ground, SW of Milford Haven - during which time the boat dumped huge quantities of haddock and whiting...
the prawn trawler Replenish makes what may well be her last landing in Newlyn before she heads out through the gaps for the last time this year for the Irish Sea...
for the Billy Rowney in port, it's just another short break between trips...
while today will see the netting fleet take ice and sail again...
summer brings a full house of trains to the westernmost railway station in Britain...
as the Scillonian III is all set to sail for the Scillys with the coaster, Arklow Beacon anchored in the Bay behind her.
Almost a year to the day, the report into MAIB’s investigation of the capsize and foundering of the fishing vessel JMT (M99) on 9 July 2015 is now published.
The report contains details of what happened and the subsequent actions taken, read more.
A safety flyer (below) for the fishing industry summarising the accident and detailing the safety lessons learned has also been produced.
Statement from the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents: The loss of FV JMT is one of many fatal accidents involving small fishing vessels that have capsized because their crews did not understand the fundamental principles of stability.
However, in common with nearly all fishing vessels <15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with="">The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has confirmed its commitment to introducing stability criteria for new fishing vessels. <15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">The difficulties of providing existing small fishing vessels with comprehensive stability criteria are understood. <15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will=""> <15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">However, the Wolfson mark, provides a practical and relatively inexpensive method of giving fishermen some indication about how to operate their vessels within safe limits. <15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will=""> <15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will=""> Safety Issues <15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will=""> <15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">The modifications made to JMT adversely impacted on the vessel’s top weight and centre of gravity which meant that the vessel had only 25% of the stability reserve required of larger fishing vessels
Leaving the port dredges suspended from the gantry while the starboard dredges were emptied, the low levels of fuel carried, stowing the catch on deck and leaving doorways and hatches open all further reduced JMT’s stability
Skippers of small fishing vessels are not required to complete stability training and may be unaware of their vessel’s limitations
The crew’s likelihood of survival was reduced by not wearing lifejackets, the failure of the liferaft to surface, not having a float-free EPIRB and not having the opportunity to make a distress call <15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will=""> <15m any="" been="" boat="" br="" crew="" fv="" given="" had="" have="" how="" indicators="" information="" its="" jmt="" might="" not="" on="" operate="" provided="" safely.="" some="" stability="" that="" the="" to="" with=""><15m .="" a="" br="" but="" existing="" fishing="" fleet="" for="" foreseeable="" future.="" have="" impact="" improve="" initiative="" is="" no="" of="" on="" over="" s="" safety="" small="" that="" the="" this="" time="" uk="" ultimately="" vessel="" welcome="" will="">The MAIB’s report into the loss of the FV JMT therefore contains two key recommendations:
to require all skippers to attend the Seafish stability awareness course;
and
to fit the Wolfson mark to all existing fishing vessels
Latest advice shows sea bass population is dangerously low
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) says the latest advice from ICES that no seabass should be caught in 2017 from the stock in UK’s waters reveals the desperate situation this restaurant and recreational angling favourite is in. The advice confirms fears that the population - which is mainly shared with France and the Netherlands - has now slipped to dangerously low levels and is at risk of not recovering properly.
This news comes on the back of emergency measures imposed by the EU in 2015 and then further restrictions to the fishery from January this year including a complete ban in February and March to protect spawning aggregations of seabass (except a 1% bycatch allowance for trawl fisheries).
Whilst it’s clear these measures are achieving reductions in catches and helping to protect juveniles, they don’t go anywhere near enough to prevent further declines in the population which is now at a critically low level.
Samuel Stone, MCS Fisheries and Aquaculture Programme Co-ordinator, says the writing has been on the wall for the bass fishery for a number of years: “Despite that, the fishing industry has fought hard to play down the seriousness of the situation. In 2014, scientists recommended an 80% reduction in bass catches, and whilst large reductions have been made, the resulting reductions have been more like 50%, and even then there is huge uncertainty in the actual catch figures for bass as it’s known to be illegally caught and sold in the UK and there is a large recreational catch.”
At the end of 2015, the European Commission had proposed a complete moratorium for seabass for the first six months of 2016 which MCS was supportive of, but what was finally agreed by the Council of Ministers was significantly watered down and included many exemptions to allow for the ongoing fishing of bass by several fleets.
Scientists suggest that even if a zero catch was implemented next year – something that will be impossible to achieve - the population would likely still be near or below critical levels in 2018. MCS strongly supports the scientific advice for a zero catch next year, but says that in order to get anywhere near this, additional selectivity and avoidance measures and much better monitoring will be needed.
MCS already has a red rating for this seabass fishery in its Good Fish Guide | (www.goodfishguide.org), advising all consumers and businesses to avoid buying bass until the fishery has recovered to a healthier state.
“With this new advice, the red rating will be maintained for the foreseeable future and those wishing to buy bass should take extra care to find out where their fish is from. Most bass in the UK are actually farmed and represent a better choice at the moment. There are one or two other stocks from further afield, but not enough is known about these populations to know if they represent a sustainable choice” says Samuel Stone.
On 29 June 2016 the Council of Fisheries Ministers and the European Parliament reached a political agreement to amend the rules currently in force for cod stocks (a long-term plan, also known as the cod recovery plan, which has been in force since 2008). The agreed draft regulation discontinues the effort regime as it prevents the full application of the landing obligation to the areas of the cod plan - thus granting more flexibility to fishermen. It also simplifies the rules on allowable catch limits for the time being and brings them in line with the new Common Fisheries Policy - pending a new set of more permanent management plans that will cover the North Sea and the North Western Waters respectively. Both the European Parliament and the Ministers stressed that the measures on selectivity and discard reduction that were developed under the cod plan should be maintained or further developed, as they can ease the phasing-in of the landing obligation for demersal fisheries which started at the beginning of this year.
