Saturday 18 November 2017

Courting dolphins chase Pendeen gig rowers across Mounts Bay.


Courtship between two amorous dolphins just off the entrance to Newlyn harbour in Mounts Bay early on Sunday morning was interrupted by a passing gig. Pendeen gig rowers were treated to a display of aquabatics as the inseparable pair of dolphins escorted the gig away from the harbour out into the Bay.

Brexit - What will happen ask the fishermen of Newlyn?

David Stevens and crew repair the footrope of a trawl on the Crystal Sea 




Many British businesses are complaining about Brexit. They fear that when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union as scheduled at the end of March 2019, the country will lose its free and frictionless access to the huge European market on its doorstep. But one beleaguered British industry sees departure in a much more optimistic light. After decades of decline, many of the U.K.’s fishermen believe Brexit will be their salvation.

Marketplace traveled to England’s largest fishing port, at Newlyn in the southern county of Cornwall, to test the waters.




“We see better things ahead. We can see a better future as a result of Brexit,” Jeremy Hosking said, sitting in the wheelhouse of his small lobster and crab-fishing vessel docked at Newlyn. Hosking believes that the vote to leave the European Union is the best thing that’s happened to the British fishing industry since he joined it more than 35 years ago.

“For the first time in my fishing career, I feel that we have a chance to put things right. Because of the way the EU has regulated fishing, the British fisherman and his community have suffered. We are the underdogs in our own waters,” he said.

When it joined the bloc more than four decades ago, the U.K. allowed other member states to fish in its own territorial waters, and many British fishermen believe the British government was so desperate to become a member that it gave the Europeans an unfair and disproportionate share of the catch. Today, for example, France is allowed to take 60 percent of the haddock in British waters while Britain is allocated only 10 percent.

“There are more foreign boats working in our waters than U.K. boats at the moment,” said Dave Stevens, who fishes out of Newlyn for haddock, hake, cod, whiting and bream. “When I go to sea these days, I’m just surrounded by foreign boats: French, Spanish, Irish, Belgian and Dutch. This overcrowding has dama

The “queen of fish” agrees. Elizabeth Stevenson, who was given the nickname because her family’s firm runs the local fish market and operates 12 trawlers out of Newlyn, said British fishing has done badly out of the EU.

“Other European Union countries take 400 million pounds' worth of fish from our waters. We take 100 million from their waters. It is really very, very unfair.”

But the queen of fish did not vote for Brexit.

“I was not convinced that we could get a better deal out than we have in,” she said, pointing out that fishing is a tiny part of the U.K. economy. She’s afraid that any benefits the fishermen might be hoping for from Brexit could be bargained away by a U.K. government intent on securing a good trade deal from the EU for the vastly more important banking and finance sectors.

“As an industry, we’ve been sold down the river so many times in the past. I am very fearful,” Stevenson said.

Her big concern is marketing. Much of the fish caught by local trawlers and sold in her market is exported, most of it to continental Europe. Other Europeans have a much bigger appetite for seafood than the Brits and are, in many cases, prepared to pay higher prices for it. Stevenson fears if there’s no EU trade deal after Brexit, the Newlyn fishermen may be able to catch a lot more fish but they may not be able to sell it so easily.

In the wheelhouse of his boat, bobbing by the quayside in the harbor, Hosking scoffed at those concerns.

“There’s a world market for quality fish, a world market,” he told Marketplace.

“I want to sell the food we catch to the world. … and to the Europeans. They want fish. They need fish. Their boats are coming into our waters to catch that fish. What I want to see is the British get a fairer share of that fish. It’s our fish. It’s our asset.”

Hosking accepts that his industry, and Britain as a whole, could face some heavy weather after Brexit as it navigates uncharted waters. But who better to meet that challenge than a fisherman?

Full story here courtesy of:
https://www.marketplace.org/2017/11/16/world/cornwalls-fishermen-face-post-brexit-realities

Friday 17 November 2017

The mighty gurnard



Twenty years ago 99% of the gurnards caught by trawlers in Newlyn were sold as 'stocky' to the local crab boats to use as bait.  Only the biggest 'tub' gurnards were put on the market for auction - and they made only a few pence per kilo.  Enter the era of the environmental activists riding on the back of high-profile media campaigns citing over-fishing and a CFP that sought to address too many boats chasing too few fish. Then, the resultant drive to replace shrinking quotas for common species like haddock, cod and whiting with alternative species and suddenly the spikey, tough-skinned gurnard began to grace the dinner plates of more and more dishes in restaurants and homes here in the UK - largely championed by a new generation of post-Floyd TV chefs keen to be seen to offer sustainably and responsibly caught fish on their menus.



Gurnards come in three main guises - top to bottom - the larger and more meaty tub gurnard, the much smaller and sweeter red gurnard and its near cousin the grey gurnard...



colour variations between the species can be confusing though some red gurnards are bright red and some grey the dullest of greys but only the tub gurnard sports such iridescent pectoral fins...




while the smaller red gurnards sport very distinctive upturned snouts and their adaptive pecoral fins that act as feelers all gurnards make for excellent eating (as the French have known for years)  and local restaurants like Bruce Rennie's The Shore and Ben Tunnicliffe's Tolcarne use them on their menus with great success...




although the fish are bony and the skin formidably tough it means the fish can be cooked in some extreme ways - like burying an entire tub gurnard in salt and baking it whole - a classic method very often used for that King of fish, the bass - the tub makes for an extremely tasty alternative - especially when bass sells for around four times the price of tub gurnard and tastes sooooo good!

Ask your local fishmonger to sell you some!

Not in the same boat.

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF BREXIT ACROSS UK FISHING FLEETS

Traditional shout auction in Newlyn

1. FISHING IS A TOTEMIC ISSUE FOR BREXIT. ITS POLITICS MATTER
Few issues better symbolise the politics of Britain’s exit from the EU (Brexit) than fisheries. Fishing, like the sea itself, is deeply interwoven into the perception of the UK as a coastal nation separated from its neighbours. Fisheries policy, it has been claimed, is a visible and visceral area where the UK can ‘take back control’.


Will British fishermen get what they want?

2. BIG CLAIMS ARE BEING MADE – BUT IS BREXIT REALLY A ‘SEA OF OPPORTUNITY’ FOR UK BOATS?
Some fishing groups are excited by the opportunities Brexit presents. The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) refers to Brexit as a ‘sea of opportunity’ and the lobby group Fishing for Leave calls it a ‘golden opportunity’. For others, Brexit is a ‘sea of risk’, whether due to possible tariffs on traded products, non-tariff barriers, or the threat of overfishing. The reality of how these risks and opportunities balance out is unclear and depends on what kind of Brexit is agreed. Brexit is being presented as a beacon of hope for small-scale fishers. Many coastal communities are looking to Brexit for a way out of their urgent economic crisis. Are they right to look to Brexit for hope? That is what this report sets out to examine.

3. THE REALITY IS BREXIT WILL PROBABLY CREATE MORE LOSERS THAN WINNERS IN FISHERIES
This report is the first attempt to weigh the risks and opportunities of Brexit for UK fishers, analysing six different possible scenarios for Brexit – from the hardest to the softest final deal, from a fishing perspective. These scenarios (No Brexit, Hard Brexit, Soft Brexit, Fishing First Brexit, Fishing Last Brexit, and No Deal Brexit) are based on how the negotiations proceed and how the fishing industry is prioritised within them.

The results show that it is only in the highly unlikely Fisheries First scenario where Britain puts fisheries above all other interests in Brexit negotiations that there will be benefits across the UK fleet. In the more likely scenarios, Brexit – as has long been the case – will see some fishers (mainly smaller boats) do far worse than others. And the rest of the fishing supply chain – processors, wholesalers, retailers – which are closer to trade in fish products, are even more exposed to the risks of Brexit.

Above all, the type of Brexit that is negotiated hugely affects the prospects for UK fishing. The process of determining winners and losers is far from straightforward and depends on what outcomes are valued and for whom: the fishing industry is not one single entity but thousands of unique fishing vessels.

4. WINNERS: BOATS THAT FISH ‘QUOTA’ SPECIES
Under some of the Brexit scenarios, fishing quotas (quantity limits for commercial species such as haddock, sole, and mackerel) for the UK fleet increase substantially; fishing resources are likely to be divided based on the national waters where fish reside (zonal attachment) rather than the current division based on fixed, historical fishing patterns. This increase in UK fishing quota raises fishing revenues, profits, and wages in turn for fishers who currently hold significant fishing quotas. The larger the quota holder, the less likely they are to land their catches into UK coastal communities or to employ a UK crew.


Will small vessels lose out?

5. LOSERS: BOATS THAT DON’T – MOSTLY SMALL VESSELS.
Many fishing vessels have little or no quota, however. One of the starkest divides in the UK fishing industry is that while small-scale vessels (under 10 metres) make up 77% of the UK fishing fleet, they hold only 1.5% of the quota. Owing to complex historical reasons, as well as a specialisation in non-quota species (e.g. crab, scallops, seabass), these vessels have been shut out of the system.
This divide in quota ownership is one of the contributing factors to a sharp divide in current economic performance, with the large-scale fleet recording profit margins of 19% and the small-scale fleet operating at a profit margin of 0%. As the gains from quota increases accrue to those who hold the quota rights, these gains further entrench the ‘haves and have nots’ of UK fisheries. Small-scale vessels also see little benefit from exclusive access out to 200 nautical miles, as they fish exclusively in inshore waters.

The only Brexit scenario which improves outcomes for these smaller vessels is the Fisheries First scenario, which is highly unlikely to be pursued by the government as it balances multiple competing interests in the negotiation process. Brexit therefore does not seem likely to be of much benefit to the small-scale fleet.

6. TARIFFS OUTSIDE THE SINGLE MARKET COULD DEVASTATE SOME FISHING BUSINESSES
Under some of the Brexit scenarios, there is also the application of tariffs to UK fish exports entering the EU. Tariffs would impact every fleet segment, as the majority of UK fish is exported (76%) and the majority of that is destined for the EU (75%). For fishers holding quota, quota gains can offset the application of tariffs in terms of overall economic performance, but not for those fishers – including the majority of the small-scale fleet – who do not hold quota.

There is no scenario with a better trade deal for fisheries than the status quo. Norway, which has the closest trade relationship with the EU for fish products, still pays tariffs on 70% of its fish sent to the EU market. Retaining tariff-free access to the EU market as is currently the case is extremely unlikely.

7. FEWER EU BOATS IN UK WATERS IS NOT LIKELY TO LEAD TO MORE PROFITS
Besides quota and tariffs, a third pillar of managing post-Brexit fisheries is how access to UK and EU territorial waters is shared. The scenario results show that restricting access to UK waters for EU vessels has a small impact for existing UK vessels, as any reduction in fishing by EU vessels in UK water is likely to be compensated by an increase in new UK vessels.


Are coastal communities likely to be hardest hit?

8. COASTAL COMMUNITIES RELY ON THOSE BOATS LIKELY TO BE HARDEST HIT
The majority of ports around the UK (59% of ports above £100,000 in landings) receive most of their landed value from pots and traps or dredgers. Most of these landings are from small-scale vessels using pots and traps – the largest fishing fleet by number of vessels and employment. But these vessels catch shellfish mainly for European export, which means that with any scenario that involves the imposition of tariffs (all scenarios except the unlikely Fisheries First Brexit), these ports and the communities that they link to may be worse off as a result of post-Brexit fisheries.

9. BREXIT ALONE WILL NOT LEAD TO MORE SUSTAINABLE FISHING
There is also the question of environmental impacts of fishing and whether Brexit will affect this important dimension. Different types of fishing have different levels of impact on the marine environment. There is no clear trend in the results between whether the winners and losers of Brexit are more likely to be active gears (towed fleet segments such as trawls and dredges) or passive gears (static fleet segments such as hooks, pots, or fixed nets).

As a result, Brexit alone will not substantially change the environmental impact of the UK fishing fleet. Like fleet economic performance, continuing to allocate fishing quota in the same way serves to reinforce the status quo. Creating more sustainable and equitable outcomes requires extra measures to be taken. How quota is allocated, one of the most important tools to incentivise outcomes, is a power that has always rested with Westminster – a power largely unused to date. Determining access to waters, for example what type of vessels can access sensitive, inshore waters, is another important tool.

10. IF THE UK AND THE EU TAKE TOO MUCH FISH, OVERFISHING RESULTS – AND EVERYONE LOSES
The scenario results drastically change if Brexit leads to overfishing. Whereas different scenarios create winners and losers depending on how quota and tariffs balance out, an increase in overfishing from the UK taking more without the EU taking less means that all fishing fleets lose out post Brexit.

That Brexit could lead to an increase in overfishing is a very real possibility. Simultaneous promises are being made at present by UK politicians and industry leaders that there will be more fishing post Brexit and by EU politicians and industry leaders that there will not be any less.

The history of negotiations with countries outside of the EU that share some fish stocks (the ‘third countries’ of Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Norway) only adds to the concern. Quota negotiations over these shared stocks depart even further from scientific advice than those within EU waters, as outside of the EU framework there is always the threat of a negotiating country simply leaving the table and fishing as much as they desire.


Will small-scale fishers lose out?

IMPLICATIONS

11. THE TYPE OF BREXIT MATTERS, BUT THERE WILL BE WINNERS AND LOSERS
It cannot be said with any certainty what the future of Brexit holds for the fishing industry. The scenario analysis in this report shows a full range of potential outcomes depending on how integrated fisheries management is post Brexit and how the industry is prioritised during negotiations. The type of Brexit clearly matters.

It is also the case that under most realistic Brexit scenarios there are both winners and losers. The results of the scenario analysis confirm that Brexit will not improve the economic performance of many of small-scale fishers that are currently struggling, due to the application of EU tariffs and a lack of quota held by these fishers. Many of these reforms have always been possible at the national level, but this has thus far avoided the spotlight of attention generated from Brexit. Reforms at both levels are required to create a fair and sustainable fisheries system for the whole fishing fleet.


Other EU states fish in 'UK' waters

12. CONSTRUCTIVE, REALISTIC NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE EU – NOT POSTURING – MUST GUIDE THE UK’S POSITION
The first conclusion of the research is therefore straightforward. The current tone of UK-EU negotiations must change immediately, as aggressive posturing puts fish stocks and the UK and EU fishing industries in jeopardy. Rather than romanticising a battle at sea, it is imperative that negotiations are done constructively with the EU and the self-defeating and falsely reassuring positions ministers are giving out are abandoned.

This also applies beyond the Brexit negotiations and to the quota negotiations themselves. Policy-making structures should prevent parties having the ability to leave the table and set their own unilateral quota limits. This could be achieved through fixed shares agreed for a medium-term period (5–10 years).

It may even be the case that a more cooperative relationship could set the groundwork for two important outcomes: access to the EU market with minimum tariffs/non-tariff barriers, and a post-Brexit fisheries transition deal. With over half of UK-caught fish destined for EU plates, low tariffs are extremely important, with UK fish processors and wholesalers highlighting this issue as their top priority in Brexit negotiations. With several key EU policies on sustainable catches, discarding, and subsidies expiring in the next couple of years, a transition deal would also bring greater confidence to the UK fishing industry.

13. THE UK MUST BRING IN NEW POLICIES BEYOND BREXIT TO GIVE MORE POWER TO FISHERS ‘LEFT BEHIND’
Fishing policy, which has for too long seen power concentrated in the hands of a few boats, excluding many smaller boats, looks set to continue this way under Brexit unless domestic policies are changed. As the bold promises for a brighter fishing future post Brexit have been made to the whole fishing industry, large and small, quota holders and non-quota holders, these changes are an absolute prerequisite for a successful outcome. Adjusting fishing quota, as well as access to waters, can also be used to incentivise better environmental practices.

This should be true of the process of decision-making as well. There is an important role for the UK government to deliver forms of adaptive co-management that empower fishers to really take control. Replicating power structures from Brussels to national administrations will simply replicate the animosity towards management.

A new peer-to-peer quota swapping system would also allow fishers to take control and shape their own quota portfolios, including those fishers without the resources to benefit from markets for leasing or purchasing quota.

The opportunity of Brexit to rethink core aspects of the UK fisheries policy should be directed towards the issue of paying for fisheries management. Currently the management of fisheries is paid for through general taxation while the fishing industry has avoided the resource access fees that characterise industries like oil & gas, water, and forestry. This is despite the limits on fishing licences to prevent new entry and the large profits that are accruing in several fleet segments. A landings tax would be one potential method to pay for management. This tax could also be differentiated, for example on landings in the UK versus landings abroad.

From the scenario analysis and research, the following policy recommendations for the UK government, supported by all stakeholders, are put forth:

  • Drop combative rhetoric to match the collaborative reality.
  • Set sustainable catch limits.
  • Use a rise in quota to help all boats.
  • Seek a post-Brexit transition deal for at least two years.
  • Secure access to the EU market with minimum tariffs and non-tariff barriers.
  • Create a platform for continued quota swapping.
  • Make access to waters conditional.
  • Empower fishers through co-management and increased representation for the small-scale fleet.
  • Generate funding for management through a landings tax.


Taken together, these policies recognise the current imbalances in UK fisheries and drivers of unsustainable behaviour and help ensure that, whatever happens with Brexit, we have a fishing policy designed for the needs of all UK fishers, as well as the communities who rely on them.

Full story courtesy of: New Economics Org website.

#FishyFriday here in Newlyn


Last of the neap tide's MSC Certified Cornish hake on Newlyn market morning...


along with plenty of inshore trawl fish that not many hours ago was till languishing somewhere near the sea bed...


like these big squid form the Millennia...


sometimes turbot have the same skin markings top and undersides...


the Cornishman went for a trip targeting plaice and cuttles again...


along with some less than pretty Dover sole...


while Tom has been haddock bashing again...


the big beamer, Billy Rowney bashed away at a few megrim soles......


while the handliners went for fish that add sparkle to the market mornings like these nickel-plated pristine pollack...


and beautiful bass...


while some of the buyers went for the more beastly boggle-eyed bothicks or pout as everyone else knows them...


the Millennia always 'wings' his ray - something akin to 'finning' but without the negative connotations - the rest of the ray bodies go for crab bait...


at the other side of the remaining market space the netters piled on the boxes of hake like these big fish from the Padstow boat., Charisma...


and for some the chance to land spurdogs again - until recently all these fish would have been dumped (discarded) back over the side of the boat again to feed the crabs and sea lice...


sometimes the future is orange, not white...


it's time to tea-off, first round of the morning tea drinking competition...


and a gorgeous morning it is too...


as gulls wheel around looking for an easy breakfast snack...


over the inshore trawler, Millennia waiting to take ice.




Thursday 16 November 2017

How do fishermen understand the ecosystem?

Yet another article confirming that fishermen can pl;ay a juch bigger oaet in their futures by using the knowledge and fishing data they amss to help create a solid case for management the fish stocks they target - in the end, the sheer weight of evidence will play into their hands and give them real bargaining power in arguing the case for quotas:

At Maine Centre for Coastal Fisheries (MCCF), we work to connect the knowledge of fishermen with the findings of science and the world of policymakers. As part of an ongoing project exploring the knowledge held by fishermen about the marine ecosystem, we aim to understand how access rights shape fishermen’s knowledge, and thereby the kinds of information they can contribute to fisheries science and management.

Fishermen are careful observers, developing detailed and fine-scale knowledge about the marine environment – not surprising given the fact that they are interacting with that environment on a regular basis. To take stock of this knowledge base, MCCF’s Research Fellow Emily Farr and Cooperative Research Scientist Josh Stoll have interviewed 17 fishermen in 12 harbors throughout Hancock and Washington counties. The interviews have focused on their fishing experience, interactions between species and their habitat, food web relationships, and environmental change.

Fishermen are keen observers of ecosystem dynamics, processes, and relationships

In these interviews, fishermen describe a complex and multi-scalar set of observations about ecosystem structure and change. A few examples of the dynamics, processes, and relationships described are:


Habitat: The composition of the seafloor — mud, sand, gravel, rock — is an important determinant of the spatial distribution of species in the ecosystem. Many fishermen describe how life gathers at the so-called “edges” of the seafloor, where one bottom type transitions into another. Other factors important for habitat include water depth and food availability.
Oceanographic Factors: Water temperature is commonly described as one of the most important factors in determining the abundance and spatial distribution of various species, and their patterns of behavior, including migration and reproduction.
Food Web Relationships: Fishermen frequently say if you find the feed, you find the fish. Feeding behavior is often a primary driver of species movement, whereby predators follow their prey. Predator-prey relationships also play an important role in the relative abundance of various species.
Environmental Change: Fishermen describe changing water temperatures and seasonal patterns, which often drive changes in species abundance, distribution, and behavior. Changes in fishing pressure and the nature of fishing activities also contribute to these changes in species abundance.Fishermen’s knowledge is rich and variable





The patterns emerging from an early set of interviews provide important insights into both the richness and variability of knowledge held by commercial fishermen.

First, fishermen who hold or have held licenses for multiple fisheries seem to develop a more holistic understanding of the marine environment and its dynamics. MCCF has long advocated for diversification in catch and the shoreside economy. This diversification enables fishermen to develop a keener understanding of the ecosystem through regular interactions with multiple components of that ecosystem.

Second, the collective body of fishermen’s knowledge is more complex and complete than the knowledge of any single individual. Fishermen operate in different places and at varying scales, just as ecological processes occur at varying scales. A clam digger in the intertidal zone will see a finer and more sessile set of interactions than a fisherman targeting a mobile fish like tuna. This implies a requirement for collaboration and the synthesis of different perspectives — individuals in different fisheries and geographic contexts, scientists, managers, policymakers — in order to facilitate a better understanding of the complex and multi-scalar processes and interactions that make up the marine ecosystem.

Maine is somewhat unique in its embrace of co-management of fisheries resources, where governance is shared between the fishing industry and state agencies. This makes the dynamics of fishermen’s knowledge particularly important, as it has significant implications for the kinds of information they are able to contribute to management. This ongoing project supports MCCF’s belief that fisheries decision-making would benefit from the experience and expertise of diversified fishermen, and many of them.

Findings: Drivers of species abundance and distribution across space, as described by three fishermen who collectively have participated in lobster, groundfish, scallop, shrimp, halibut, clam, mussel, seaweed, urchin, and sea cucumber fisheries. The width of the arrow indicates the number of fishermen who described each relationship.



The article was produced by Emily Farr who is a Research Fellow through Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries’ internship program. Farr works closely with collaborators at the University of Maine. Through interviews with fishermen, her research explores the local ecological knowledge held by the commercial fishing industry in Maine. She is interested in how that knowledge can help inform science and policy, particularly in the context of ecosystem-based fisheries management. Emily holds a Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where her work explored coastal governance, fisheries policy, and stakeholder engagement in marine spatial planning. She also holds a Master’s in Food Studies from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy, where she had the opportunity to study the impact of climate-driven environmental change on small-scale Italian fishing activities through ethnographic interviews with fishermen. A native of Maryland, Emily currently resides in Stonington.


Cape fishermen reap benefits of monitoring program




The use of technology is increasingly being used to replace on-board observers and as a means of providing data that over time builds a solid case for stock assessment. The crux of the argument comes down to fishermen being in a position of power once they create sufficient evidence, as Brett Alger says,"“These are technological gains that will tip the scale, a critical mass is forming.”

This project comes from Cape Cod and the Maine area in the USA.

Automated video analyses in monitoring fishery activities have drawn increasing attention due to its scalability and capability. Stereo videos, compared to monocular videos, can capture the depth of information in addition to color and texture; thus, it can be more robust in monitoring and capable of measuring the length of fish. In this work, we present a reliable tracking and measurement approach to stereo videos for catch events in longline fisheries. 

First, we combine background subtraction method with image object detector to detect fish in a stereo frame. Using the location and disparity information in the stereo frame, we can thus back-project the fish and track it in the 3D space. With the inferred 3D information, we separate the environmental noises from the fish being tracked. Based on the tracking results, we can know whether the fish catch is retained or discarded. We can also measure the length of the fish based on the depth map calculated from stereo matching. Our experiment results demonstrate that our method can work reliably under wild sea environment.

Full story here from the Cape Cod Times