Buyers busy Wednesday in Newlyn

Apart from the usual landings from single handed punts and a few small inshore boats...

there were just the two beam trawlers to keep the buyers busy this morning with all the usual suspects were busy bidding...

Trelawney Fish...

Interfish Limited...

Smarts...

Wing of St Mawes...

South Coast Fisheries...

Newlyn Fish Company...

Bodmin Seafood...

PJ Tonkin & Co...

W Stevenson...

Seabourne Fish...

Falfish...

Marisco Fish...

Mousehole Fish...

Whitelink...

Tasty Mac Pac Ltd...

and Ocean Fish...

all of whom were paying top dollar for fish this morning...

with a good run of mackerel from St Ives stacked high in the fridge...

and a smattering of herring caught here in the Bay...

outside the market, the Stelissa was bust taking on new nets...

while the transport waits.

Slipping through the net - the control and enforcement of fisheries in England, France, Ireland and Poland

This report summarises the findings of a series of case studies in England, France, the Republic of Ireland and Poland on the control and enforcement of EU fisheries laws. Comparing these four national enforcement frameworks, we concluded that:

• There is a lack of harmonisation in sanctioning systems
• Too few sanctions are being imposed, and when sanctions are imposed, they are set at levels that are too low to actually be deterrent
• All have delayed the introduction of key EU requirements on the control of fisheries into their national systems
• All of these enforcement systems lack transparency, making it difficult for stakeholders to assess whether national obligations under the EU regulations are being met.

The report concludes with a summary of the implications of these shortfalls at EU level and what they mean in terms of the current evaluation of the Control Regulation, and its potential revision.

Read the country case studies:

England
France
Ireland

It's not just fishermen who get bullied by NHOs and those not qualified.

Bashing experts is not new. But, in this era of post-truth politics more and more of us are becoming increasingly unaware of the 'truth', largely as a result of personalised news feeds via social media, or simply denied access in seeking the truth behind any story as every mainstream source of news becomes increasingly exposed for bias of some sort.

This is not helped by our mainstream media largely controlled by a handful of men keen to see the global companies and regimes who provide the advertising revenues and other income needed to run their operations - even the BBC, for many the gold standard of unbiased newscasting is increasingly being exposed for supporting western, especially US viewpoints or closer to home, suporting the right. NGOs, especially the Greenpeace will nuance any story or situation to help rattle the collecting buckets in order to raise funds for 'good causes'. As a result, some journalists and editors see fit to increase or maintain their readership (more readers = better NRS figures = attracting more advertisers = more revenue) through using sensational headlines where the sensation matters more than the truth

Even the Sunday Times (sistership to the 'Thunderer', as the Times was often referred to) once independent but now owned by Newscorps - Murdoch's global media empire generally sway their allegiance to the governing elite of the day. In 2012 the fishing industry felt the full force of thier biased media attention when the Sunday Times' front page ran with the headline, "Only 100 cod left in the North Sea".  This was particularly galling for many of the North Sea fleet who had long since realised that they could control stock levels by fishing responsibly and the signs were there even than that cod stocks, far from consisting of 100 geriatric examples were in fact growing year-on-year.

More recently, Greenpeace used the plight of small (Under 10m) fishing boats - who between them catch just about every species of fish available in the North Atlantic - and matched it against the might of the largely British flagged but Dutch owned freezer trawler fleet who only catch mackerel, scad and herring in huge quantities - by using the tonnage as the statistic of comparison for very low value fish, little of which goes for human consumption - eg the Cornelis Vrolijk catches 23% of the UK fish quota - in reality, there is little connection between the two fisheries so to compare them is meaningless - other than to sensationalise the story with inappropriate statistics when the situation came about after fish quotas were awarded monetary value in the UK by dint of the licensing system based on individual track records for fish caught - and, of course, through owners who sold their licences to fish out of the UK.

In recent years fishermen and scientists have begun to enjoy the positive results of a better communicated world thanks to the internet - it is easier for scientists to talk directly with individual fishermen using social media - and it is easier for fishermen to join in the debate at every stage of development through open forums - some organisations are at last making use of largely free technologies to livestream meetings and conferences to widen participation and inclusivity.  As a result, more fishermen and more members of the public are becoming more aware of how organisations like PEW and the Oak Foundation fund and influence directly or indirectly the activities of NGOs (like Greenpeace, WWF) to meet their own ends.

While science is not everything it would like to be it is there to give confidence by supplying evidence based on data gathered in a scientific way and letting the numbers do the talking. Fishermen supply their own catch data from vessels over 10m - live, via satellite for every vessel over 15m and this is potentially a far more powerful source of data to lobby compared with that gathered by a handful research vessels constrained by budget and opportunity.

So it is important, as this article from the USA elaborates, to be mindful of the interests and lobbying power of those environmental organisations that are all too ready to use rather than the industry when it serves them. As the writer Dr Sally Lutcavage says;

"How do you react to false, deceitful accusations from non-experts, from unethical individuals, from persons or NGO’s with books to sell, or a point of view to peddle to an unsuspecting public or community, or politicians. Points of view, that when challenged by facts and data, get in the way of fund-raising campaigns, messages to the media, book sales, rich donors, and perhaps the most insidious - attempts to influence US fisheries and ocean policies."

This is typical of the sort of abuse shown by non-experts:

The more open the debate, the more accurate the data and the more the industry will develop its scientific credibility with all sectors - aside form a handful of over-zealous activists of the kind you can find in any sphere of human activity.

UK Coastguard helicopter flies 100 miles just inside French waters to evacuate unwell crewman from Newlyn beam trawler, Resurgam PZ1001

While most of us were still asleep this morning, a blast of cold sea air was being felt by UK Coastguard Paramedic Winchman Niall Hanson as he was winched onto a UK fishing vessel 100 nautical miles south of Newquay to assist an unwell crewman.

Co-ordinated by the UK Coastguard Operations Centre at Falmouth, the Newquay search and rescue helicopter flew over rough seas and just inside French waters to evacuate the sick crewman from the UK vessel. The crewman was airlifted to Treliske Hospital by the helicopter crew of Captain Mark Coupland, Co-Pilot ‘Sharky’ Finn, Paramedic Winch Operator Jason Bibby and Paramedic Winchman Niall Hanson. His condition was not thought to be life-threatening and we wish him a speedy recovery.

The footage was filmed by the helicopter team.

Clearly visible in the video during the rescue, both beam trawls are suspended from the end of the derricks to help stabilise the boat and reduce the degree of roll while the skipper steams at full speed just off the wind. This helps reduce any dramatic variations in movement which, given the proximity of the stern mast to the high-line can only make the operation safer. Notice how the winchman applies opposite pressure to the high-line as the winch reels in the diver and casualty to minimise the sway.

All skippers know the correct procedure for such an incident, so in all likelihood the only contact between the boat and the rescue helicopter would have been when the navigator calls the skipper of the boat and reminds him to "please maintain your present course and speed" - the height of a professional operation for which the fishing community of the UK can only be ever grateful.

First Monday fish auction for 2017

Three beam trawlers, one inshore, two netters and a dozen handliners landed fish for the first Monday market of the year...

including a huge trip of monk from the New Harmony...

huge box sized brill...

buyers go head-to-head...

a dozen boxes of witches - a big landing of these cousins to the megrim...

and a big landing of ling, once landed by the ton when Newlyn had a fleet of 50-60' longliners, back in the day...

some ray missed out on the spots...

good little dollop or red mullet for the beamer...

the At Ives mackerel boats enjoyed a bumper weekend with prices holding up making them happy men...

MSC Cornish hake courtesy of the Charisma...

with some real crackers...

and, unusually for Newlyn and these warmer waters, a small halibut...

more MSC Certified hake...

heavy clouds roll in from the west heralding what looks likely to be a rather inclement day...

not that will bother the ever-watchful Tom...

in his WWII watch cap popular with so many fishermen - get your own hand knitted classic watch cap here and keep the head dry and ears warm!

Never far from the sea.

A brief tour of West Penwith including the crystal clear waters of St Ives, Mousehole Christmas Lights, Church Cove and Cadgwith Cove finishing up in the Cadgwith Cove Inn serenaded by regulars of the Sunday Folk Session including squeeze box maestro, Bob Glanville. 

#Porthleven baulks - Huge art auction for the Fishermen's Mission in March!

In all, ten major storms hit Porthleven between November 2013 and Febnruary 2014...

during the day of February 5th 2014, the Porhleven Harbour baulks were burst.

Two ton wooden baulks have protected the inner harbour since its construction in 1858

The Porthleven Baulk Project is an imaginative, creative fundraiser. It is about creating beauty and hope from devastation, by using broken baulks, destroyed by fierce nature and re-forming them into a wide variety of unique and stunning art pieces. Out of loss and darkness comes hope.

The reclaimed baulks were cut up in blocks or as a 'canvas'.

On the 5th February 2014 the harbour defences in Porthleven, South West Cornwall gave way to the torrential beating from sea. Ten boats sank in Porthleven harbour, and many fishermen lost floats, nets and crab pots when huge waves crashed through into the inner harbour. Work had already been impossible due to the extreme, on-going weather conditions and then the storms destroyed their means to catch.

The storm of 2013/ 2014 lasted for six months. During that difficult time, the Charity the Fishermen’s Mission, supported fishermen and their families. It was soon decided by the trustees and the board, that support was needed urgently. Payments of up to £500 would be given to fishermen upon the receipt of one household bill in arrears. Over £110,000 was given to fishing families in the South West alone.

Baulks were cut up into sections and stored.

The Porthleven baulks, individually are two tonnes of wood bolted together and with substantial metal caps. They are lifted into the harbour entrance by a crane. As a resident of Porthleven and a Regional Fundraising Manager for the Fishermen’s Mission (in Cornwall) I would walk past the boat yard and look on at the broken pieces of the harbour defenses and often think of the storms. An idea formed, permission to use the wood was granted and the Porthleven Baulk Project was launched.

We have a team of dedicated volunteers working on the project tirelessly. They are Leigh Santi, Rita Collier, Pat Hosking, Bel Higgs, Suzie Williams, Barbara Powell, John Winterton and Louise Winterton. We are working with many creative people to make innovative items from the broken baulks, which will then be sold at an auction in aid of the Charity.  You can follow progess on Twitter with @PorthlevenArt or on their Facebook page.  ..

At least 80 artists have already agreed to paint on to the wood (in canvas cut sizes). Others are working with the wood to create mosaics, etchings, ceramic and glass. Craftspeople are creating items of furniture. Each piece will have a letter of signed authenticity to prove that these pieces are from the Porthleven baulks. Artists include Daphne McClure, Michael and son Nick Praed, Naomi Frears, Elaine Turnbull, Kim Potter, David Hosking, Mark Lace, Nigel Chamberlain, Caroline Cleave, Christine Brunnock, David Cordeaux, Julia Schofield, Cailtin McClintock, Dee Cook, Dame Carol-Anne Duffy, the Queen's poet, Lesley Holmes, Kim Potter, Suzie Williams, Jason Lilley and many more.

The auction will be held on 18th March of next year (2017) in the Atlantic Inn, Porthleven with an online auction as well. All the pieces will be on display at the Lifeboat House from the 4th to the 10th March 2017.

This is a unique opportunity to support The Fishermen’s Mission by purchasing not only a piece of social history but a celebration of enduring talent.