Signing Article 50 and another big Spaniard in Newlyn - coincidence?

Albeit a small Spanish invasion, the first since 1595, or just coincidence?  Is the presence of two huge Spanish fishing boats somehow connected to signing Article 50?

You don't see a big Spaniard in Nelwyn for years and years and then, after steaming to Newlyn from way west of the Scillys...

Monday of this week saw the huge 240 ton Spanish flag of convenience vessel, Sanamedio...

land a token amount of fish on the market in Newlyn, while the bulk of her catch...

went into the back of a lorry a lorry, bound directly for Spain...

the stern trawler was full from stern...

to stem with spare trawls and trawl netting - clearly prepared for long trips away from her 'home' port of La Coruna...

while the early hours of Thursday morning saw the arrival of the netter, Monte Mazanteu...

and in a sign of changing times, all her crew were wearing lifejackets as they stowed the fenders...

as they headed out through the gaps later in the day...

and steamed out across the bay...

bound away SSW to the deep water in search of hake...

Please subscribe to the Through the Gaps Youtube channel to receive the latest fishing videos.

Update 31/03/2017: ITV news report http://bit.ly/2mVc0Y0

Although most people refer to these boats as being Spanish they are in every sense British fishing vessels, registered in British ports and fishing with quota that came from British fishing vessels.  At the heart of any discussion will be references made to the Factortame Case(s) and the subsequent legal battles that ended in a costly bill for the UK Government.  Some of this debate goes to the very heart of why many people, not least many fishermen, voted for Brexit - the right to sovereign law being upheld.  The boats are also a welcome boost for the harbour in the form of some very welcome landing dues - along with the impending arrival of more vessels from the Scottish prawning fleet, two fo whom are in port at the moment.

Sam & Sam are Women in Seafood - they say, help others to join this amazing industry!

Newlyn boasts two women in seafood who are regulars on the fish market in the early hours, Sam who can be seen on the market at 6am every morning making sure the fish for Iceland and Wings are in perfect order...

and Sam who works for Cefas and her husband skippers the Sea Spray - both of them are huge fish fans and get to benefit from more than just a living wage as part of their work in the port.  They are just two of the women who have taken part in this Seafish survey - who else do you know who could take the survey and encourage others to join this amazing industry?

Please encourage them to do so by clicking on the link https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/WomenInSeafood here!

Fully Documented Fishery scheme helping to reduce discards of quota species

The MMO is seeking to continue work with the fishing industry on the Fully Documented Fisheries (FDF) scheme – looking at ways of tackling the problem of discarding fish.

Apply to take part in 2017 catch quota trials

The MMO is encouraging fishing vessels and owners to apply to take part in the 2017 Fully Documented Fishery scheme for North Sea cod. The deadline for vessels to apply to is 31 March and details on how to do so are available on GOV.UK.

The MMO will be meeting fishermen in the Southwest otter trawl fishery and Cornish Fish Producers Organisation (CPFO) representatives in Newlyn at the end of March to discuss issues around haddock discards and how data on this might be gathered using REM.  Fishermen who wish to attend should contact the CPFO.

On behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) we’ve been running the Fully Documented Fishery scheme with industry since 2011. The scheme incentivises fishermen to stop wasteful discarding of dead fish back into the sea and avoid catches of unmarketable fish.

How Fully Documented Fishery schemes work

Fishing vessels taking part have to land all the fish of species of interest that they catch so they all count against their quota.  That is, they are “Fully Documenting” their catch.  If they use up their entire quota for these species they would have to stop fishing altogether, rather than continue and discard over-quota catch.
Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) equipment is used to record the catch as it comes on board and the MMO can check that the no-discard rules are kept.  The REM equipment includes cameras to monitor fish processing and discarding, a GPS to track where the vessel is fishing and sensors to detect when the fishing net is deployed.  A picture of the REM system’s output is below.

These schemes are voluntary and it is only with the support and co-operation of the fishing industry that they can be undertaken.  There are currently three schemes running: one in the North Sea focusing on cod, one in the Western English Channel focusing on dover sole, another in the Western English Channel focusing on haddock.  The MMO also gathers data on the discards of other fish species in the trials.
Both the BBC and Channel 4 News have previously filmed fishermen taking part in the trials and the equipment in use:

What can we use this information for?

The information from FDF trials helps to improve understanding of how a discard ban – “the Landing Obligation”- will work in a particular fishery.  For example, can a fishing vessel use modified nets to avoid catching unwanted fish?  The trials can also help us to understand where there are “choke” species issues.  That is, where it is very difficult for a fisherman to avoid catching a particular fish species and this might mean that a fishery has to be stopped before the end of a year as they run out of quota.

In addition, the MMO is working closely with the Centre for Aquaculture and Fisheries Science (Cefas) to explore the potential for using REM data for science.  One of our current projects is helping to improve identification and hopefully future management of the Common Skate.  Common skate is thought to actually be two species (Blue skate and Flapper skate) by scientists but more research and improved species identification is needed to understand the state of their populations and manage them better.

Results of fully documented fishery schemes

The trials have shown to significantly reduce the amount of quota species being thrown away at sea.

For example in 2015, as in previous years, discards of cod by vessels taking part in the North Sea scheme were well below 1% of the catch.  This is in comparison with a scientific estimate of discards of 41% for non-participating vessels.
Successful selective fishing gear trials were also undertaken in the Southwest haddock scheme which reduced the quantity of juvenile haddock by up to 69%.

You can learn more about the findings of previous years’ trials from reports on GOV.UK. Historical information is also in the National Archives.

UK v EU decree nisi day

Fishing is a truly international industry, but in our case, a mainly European affair - as the web address proudly displayed for this major transport company would suggest - and the industry in Cornwall relies heavily on overseas markets - one reason being of course that UK citizens eat far more imported fish than they do home caught fish - imports (£2.2 billion) are roughly twice that of exports (£1.1 billion as of 2010) so today is of potentially huge significance because...

after 44 years of marriage the UK will serve divorce papers on the EU at midday today - a few words from Pete and Dud might just sum up some of those feelings...

and while some might be misty-eyed about the break...

Scottish fishermen, like the visiting Achieve currently in Newlyn...

and other UK...

and Cornish fishermen see the break as the beginning of a new era after government ministers have openly promised to "take back control" of "our" waters and fish...

so on a dull and mizzly morning...

with smoke rising from the stove chimney of a liveabaord...

and the boats riding high at the top of a big spring tide...

for some new gear...

and new boats reflect a renewed faith in the future of the industry...

it was fitting that the market was almost devoid of fish.

Modern Scottish sea power

After steaming two Newlyn from way out west of the Scillys, berthed on the North pier, are the two examples of the modern Scottish trawler fleet, Banff registered Acheive BF223...

and the Inverness registered, Apollo INS179...

 

sporting her trawl doors hauled to the top of the gantry aft...

while the Achieve has her doors hauled on her quarter...

with ingenious fenders rigged to prevent the doors crashing violently as she rolls in heavy weather...

despite the weather, some of the crew take the time to scrub down topsides...

a measure of how big these boats are, the Achieve draws more at her bow than any boat in the Newlyn fleet does aft...

meanwhile over on the Mary Williams pier the Stelissa's trammel net anchors are ready to go aboard...

landing the Emma Louise...

at high water on a big tide...

with the new sistership to the Emma,  the Harriet Eve now back in Newlyn.

Newlyn Archive goes over to "the other side" this coming Saturday.

The large portaled entrance suggests it was intended for easy access - until last year it was the Newlyn Post Office but before that it was built for the Admiralty as the Coastguard's boathouse in 1900...

today, the building is now home to the Newlyn Archive which was set up to collect, record and show off the history of the port. Last Saturday saw the opening of the old boathouse building after many months of restoration work and which will now provide a base and focal point for the group's activities...

the old Post Office counter was retained and has a number of recesses that contain various relics...

The next Open Day 'On the Other Side' is on Saturday April 1 2017 at Trinity Centre, Chywoone Hill, Newlyn from 10.00-3.00. The topic 'On the Other Side' conjures a multitude of views of Old Newlyn.

Certainly, the marching policemen in the photo above, were on the other side when the fishermen of Newlyn, Mousehole, Porthleven and St Ives protested about East Coast men fishing on the Sabbath and flooding the Monday market with their fish. A heavy chain was fixed across Newlyn harbour entrance and the baulks were put down at Mousehole. At Newlyn, the men boarded the boats that had come in during the night and threw the fish overboard...

'We were pious and stern, as our forefathers were,
We honoured the Sabbath day,
But the Eastern men made harvest hen,
And landed the fish on our kay,
And what use to shut with a mackerel glut
When our boats put out to say?'

But 'The Other Side' conjures much more than the Newlyn Riots of 1896. In the exhibition, we have tried to find examples of 'the other side' from earliest times to more recent times. 

We deal with the Spanish Invasion, 1595; 
Mousehole people's rejection of Newlyn in the cholera epidemic of 1832; 
a Newlyn Sea Captain walking the plank in 1850; 
the Welcome Stranger, 1869; fishermen dabbling with contraband in 1883; 
the sad case of Rolf Jonssen during WW1; 
Penzance, on the other side of the Rugby field, 
1927; the Newlyn Clearances, 1937; 
Hulks, refugees and evacuees in WW2; 
the Torrey Canyon disaster, 1967; 
Haul for the Shore, 1980.

There will also be films to watch, files and folders to explore, experts to consult, and much else, so do join us.

Please make a donation to this project. Send your donation to Ron Hogg, Treasurer, Newlyn Archive, The Admiralty Boathouse, 23 The Strand, Newlyn TR18 5HL.

EXCLUSIVE 12 MILE ZONE - A view from the NFFO.

Each week, the NFFO shines a spotlight on a different aspect of its policy towards the UK’s departure from the EU and therefore from the Common Fisheries Policy. This week the focus is on an exclusive 12 mile limit.

An Exclusive 12 mile Zone

• The area within the UK’s 12 mile limit should be an exclusive zone in which fishing and access rights should be limited to UK fishing vessels. This is justified in terms of:
• The current absence of symmetry (the UK as very few vessels which fish within in the 12mile limit of another EU member state)
• The increase in fishing capacity of the non-UK fleets claiming historic rights which were established on the basis of much smaller vessels with lower catching capacity
• The provisions of UNCLOS which expressly allow for exclusive rights within the 12 mile zone
• A better basis for future management of inshore fisheries

Notwithstanding the above, it will nevertheless be important to find a way to ensure that the mutual access of the Northern Irish and Republic of Ireland fleets to each other’s territorial waters should continue, on the basis of the neighbourhood agreement which predated the CFP.

More news from the NFFO.