Newlyn's first #FishyFriday of July!

Seems orange has become an evermore popular colour for the fleet over the last ten years...

while in the fish auction this morning there is plenty of grey mullet...

red mullet...

spotted plaice...

translucent monk...

and plenty of pollack...

and megrim soles...

to be whisked away by the porters...

with just the one beam trawler landed there were only a handful of big tub gurnards...

just enough to keep the buyers happy...

paying top prices for Dover sole...

mixed red and grey gurnard...

and small whiting, name the fish thrown in with them...

a typical day haul for an inshore trawler like the Millennia at this time of year looks like this...

with fine weather forecast the inshore fleet are keen to take ice and get away for another crack at the fish...

 in ideal conditions, a mirror-like surface in the harbour...

broken by some mysterious ripples...

from this year's visiting crop of grey mullet...

feeding in the harbour...

Delta Dawn, the happiest crabber in town...

it's not surprising Sparkling Sea or Silvery Sea are often chosen for the names of fishing boats as evocative of early morning starts...

it won't be long before the temporary home for the Penlee Lifeboat crew is taken down... 

when there new home is finally commissioned...

a full house of visiting yachts this morning...

St Michael's Mount rises out of a silvery sea...

away in the distance the Lizard, ahead is the Trinity House flagship, Galatea at anchor...

what a morning for those on this yacht, they must have had a quiet night at anchor off Penzance.

Midweek market in Newlyn.

Making an early morning landing of crab and lobster, the Delta Dawn...

name this member of the shark family, its local name is 'pisser' because they smell of...

squid are not much in evidence yet this year...

but this Jon Dory...

and this plaice are superb specimen fish that would make any angler's eyes water with envy...

the Ygraine put ashore another good trip of turbot...

and anyone looking to get one of the best fish to BBQ over the coming days of fine weather will be pleased to know supplies are increasing daily...

just one of the big crabbers gets through this amount of bait in the course of a three day trip...

yet more John Dory...

auction over, some of the buyers and porters take a quick break in the morning sunshine...

while a few opportunistic gulls try to steal breakfast from under their noses...

the Mission ship still sails high over the old Mission building....

there's a meeting on July 11th at 7pm in St Peter's Church by Newlyn Meadery for anyone interested in creating a Newlyn Fishing Heritage Centre in the port...

good to see plenty of wood used in the construction of the new Penlee Lifeboat Centre...

the old St Ives lugger Ripple looking spruce...

if you work a punt singlehanded and fell overboard, just how would you get back on board?..

complementary colours reflected in the harbour...

heading back into port the inshore trawler Venture...

coastal tours courtesy of the Cormorant.

Update: Catch recording for under 10m fishing vessels starts this summer.

Changes to the planned introduction of catch recording for all English and Welsh under 10 metre fishing boats have been made following a public consultation.

A report on the consultation was published on 6 June and includes a summary of the comments received and how fishing authorities are responding to them.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in this consultation as well as more than 100 fishers who have been helping us to test the prototype of the catch recording service that we have been developing.

We have listened to the concerns of individuals and industry and made three changes to the way that we will be introducing this licence change.

Trawlers and fishing boats in Newlyn Harbour, Cornwall, England.

One of these changes is the decision to carry out a phased introduction of the new service, beginning later this summer. By introducing catch recording to sections of the under 10m fishing fleet gradually, the project team will continue to learn from the experiences of owners and skippers throughout the summer and make improvements where necessary.

The second important change is removal of the requirement for a landing declaration. Submission of a landing declaration, within 48 hours of fish leaving a vessel, had been set out in the original proposal for all quota and non-quota catches. Following several responses to the consultation that raised concerns about double reporting, this requirement has now been removed; the catch record is the only document needed.

The third change to the catch recording service removes the need for a separate paper transport document to be carried. As long as the estimated catch record has been submitted this digital record will suffice.

This project is an important part of our strategy to support the viability and growth of our fishing industry, as it will provide a better understanding of catch by the under 10 metre fishing fleet registered in England and Wales. Better data gathering will also provide better scientific evidence and lead to better decision making.

Small fishing boats in Cornwall

Other benefits of introducing catch recording for under 10 metre vessels include: a greater understanding of the activities of under 10 metre fishing vessels, which will allow for better fisheries’ management; better records will also allow the origins of fish to be traced, which should lead to improved sales and marketing opportunities for the industry; and improvements in enforcing catch limits and quotas.

The new catch recording service will see the owners and operators of under 10 metre vessels, who catch and land species subject to quotas, catch limits or effort restrictions, recording their catch via a mobile device (a smartphone or tablet) prior to the fish leaving the vessel. This service will be available online (via a link, from any device) and also as an app, which can be downloaded for both android and Apple devices.

Those who catch only non-quota species would have 24 hours to record their catch via either a mobile device, a personal computer or laptop.

This summer the Welsh Government will be running a number of training events for owners and skippers and the MMO will be organising face-to-face sessions to demonstrate the new system. Further details will be released in the coming weeks.

Full summary of responses to the consultation

Channel 5s Trawlermen: Celebs all at Sea

On their way down the quay.

Shane Lynch, Anthony Worrall Thompson and Ben Cohen varied wildly in their ability to gut fish and lift heavy machinery in the North Sea.

Serious looks from Shane Lynch, Anthony Worrall Thompson and Ben Cohen

The latest 'real life' series, "Trawlermen: Celebs at Sea", the chef and the boyband singer, along with Rugby World Cup winner Ben Cohen, joined the crew of a commercial fishing boat in the North Sea in the middle of winter, and were put to work.

As Kasia Delgado from the Inews wrote in her review of the first episode shown last night on Channel 5, "The celebrity aspect added some light relief from the grim reality of the job, but in the end I wanted more from skipper Alan and his real crew, because their daily lives are compelling enough on their own, as shown in previous celeb-free documentary series about the lives of deep sea fisherman: Channel 4’s The Catch, and BBC1’s Trawlermen. Then again, if it took the involvement of a guy from Boyzone for Channel 5 to make this series, then it was worth it!"

Given the industry's current dilemma with regard to traditional recruitment from the local area, many in the industry would probably rather this, and programmes in the future, made rather less of the dangers of the job (surely a given) and focussed on more positive aspects of fishing as a way of life like the camaraderie, team work, the multitude of skills required, the sense of job satisfaction in ethically providing a sustainable food supply and the sheer enjoyment of being at sea witnessing not just the hardship but the sheer wonder of nature for the length of a trip!

The boat in the series is the Genesis seen here in her home port, though eagle eyed Cornish fishing boat aficionados will no doubt have spotted...

very own Crystal Sea SS118 appear in the background of the opening sequence!

Let's hope Katia gets her wish and we hear more from skipper Alan Watt and his crew on what they love about the way of life and why they go to sea to catch fish - despite the conditions!