It's #FishyFriday in Newlyn.

Yet another stunning start to the day in Newlyn...

though the warm glow...

soon fades as the sun nears the horizon..

oblivious to all this, ex-trawler skipper Edward Harvey starts his day's work net setting...

as the morning auction gets underway...

with a good run of hake from the netter Stelissa...

while the beam trawler Lisa Jacqueline landed plenty of John Dory...

and a surprisingly big shot of cod for the time of year...

along with a good run of witches...

the beam trawler will be hoping for a better cuttlefish season this year after last year's slow start...

solid evidence that boats are adhering to the landing obligation and retaining on board undersized quota fish...

name this ray...

the reddest of red mullet...

they might be a gory sight but that much blood indicates just how fresh these fish are, just hours old...

name these round white fish...

pristine line caught squid...

some plaice have very bright spots...

glistening skin and clear eyes are another excellent indicator of freshness...

the main auction in progress...

there's a stiff breeze this morning...

the crabber Emma Louise is undergoing a refit...

waiting to complete loading before the MTS Terramare heads for the Scillys...

the resolute has had a small section added to the height of her net pound to accommodate her new Peruvian net...

major winch job on the beamer...

what better place to enjoy some Friday night fun and the rugby world cup over the weekend...

another visiting scalloper...

the visiting MTS Terramare was built as a landing craft...

Sea Lady another visiting scalloper...

three of the Rowse crabbing fleet at rest.

Another stunning morning in Newlyn.

Berthed overnight, the classic sailing ship Lady of Avenel offers superb cruising adventures...

landed overnight, plenty of inshore fish from the trawler Imogen III including skipper Roger Nowell's favourite fish, John Dory...

along with megrim sole...

pollack...

haddock...

lemon sole...

and a few of those Mediterranean octopus...

while the handline boys were busy picking away a few mackerel...

and a few of the top men landed a few boxes of bass...

scad make great eating if you can find any at your local fishmongers...

as do these meaty ray winds...

the ever-happy Edwin...

the beam trawler Lisa Jacqueline put ashore a few turbot...

plenty of gurnards...

and even more of the more regular octopus...

the old engineering workshop is another step nearer to completion...

these autumn mornings have a special place in Newlyn's photographic year...

with a constant supply of stunning dawns.

Shipwrecked Mariner's Society photographic competition 2019 winners announced!

With Newlyn and the fishing industry providing such a rich source of subjects just waiting to be photographed or painted Through the Gaps is celebrating!


National Maritime Charity, the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, has just revealed the eagerly awaited results of its seventh annual photography competition, showcasing images relating to all aspects of the UK’s historic relationship with the sea.

Having reviewed more than 800 fantastic entries, the judges decided to award Laurence Hartwell the prize for overall winner for 2019, with his entry ‘Landing Mackerel’, which captures a bird’s-eye view of a fisherman with his catch, taken in the port of Newlyn, Cornwall. 

Landing Mackerel

Picture Editor of the i, Sophie Batterbury; Picture Editor of the Sunday Times, Ray Wells and Chief Executive of the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society, Captain Justin Osmond, identified the winners during the competition’s judging process, which took place at Trinity House, London, on 5th September.

Celebrating its 180th year, the Society, which provides financial support to former seafarers and their dependants, was on the lookout for images of ships, harbours, ports, wrecks, seafarers and seascapes. The competition, backed by headline supporter Ensign and the Fishmongers’ Company, ran from the Society’s website www.shipwreckedmariners.org.uk, and across its social media platforms.

Captain Justin Osmond said, “This year we received an extremely high level of top-quality images that showcased the beauty, industry and people that contribute to the UK’s coastal areas. With 2019 being our 180th year, it was amazing to see this celebration of British maritime culture seen from up and down country. Laurence Hartwell’s winning image, ‘Landing Mackerel’ was a particularly powerful image that we thought really represented those that the charity is here to support and symbolises the thousands of UK fisherman that work on our waters.”

Ensign Marketing Director, Jemima FitzMorris commented on the competition: “Ensign has been a proud supporter of this year’s competition and it has been fantastic to see such a diverse array of submissions memorialising our country’s maritime heritage. The competition shows no signs of slowing in its seventh year as those positioned in and around our beautiful coastline celebrate our powerful relationship with the sea as an island nation. As the UK’s only not for profit maritime pension provider, ensuring that all those working in the industry have a comfortable retirement is a key part of our vision at Ensign, and one we share with the Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society.”

You can view all the winning entries here on the Shipwrecked Mariners Society website.

APPG - What is the Landing Obligation?

What is the Landing Obligation?


At the beginning of the decade, the fact that 1.7 million tonnes of fish were being discarded at sea every year in European waters was brought to the forefront of public and policy discussion. This figure shocked the European public and sparked a petition that gathered 870,000 signatures in support of a policy change to prevent discarding.

The EU responded by introducing the Landing Obligation into the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). Also known as the ‘discards ban,’ many describe it as the most dramatic step-change in European fishing policy since the CFP’s implementation. This piece of legislation was simple in its directive: to make it a legal obligation for fishing vessels to land virtually everything they catch, with the aim of eliminating discards. It has been gradually implemented since 2015, and came into full force in January 2019.

The Landing Obligation makes it a legal requirement to land all catches.

Chokes

Discarding can happen for one of two reasons: because the fish caught are not commercially valuable (for instance, they are of low value, or too small); or to avoid fulfilling quotas that would then prevent the vessel from fishing for other species. Many vessels target a wide range of species, and are unable to fish once the landed quota for any one of those species is exhausted. The practise of discarding had been used as a valve for the industry to prioritise high-value catches whilst staying within quota limits.

If allotted annual quota for a particular species is low, this quota can be filled quickly, even if the species is caught unintentionally. Once this quota limit is reached, the vessel is no longer permitted to catch anything, since it can’t guarantee that it can catch desired species without also catching the quota-limited species. This is known as a ‘choke’.

Unsurprisingly, fishermen are keen to avoid such chokes as they can be financially ruinous, preventing them from fishing for months at a time. When the Landing Obligation was announced, many members of the fishing industry were highly sceptical of the incoming legislation, since it required virtually every fish caught to be accounted for. Although many accepted its necessity to stop certain stocks becoming depleted, and many fishermen have themselves decried the waste of discarding edible fish, reservations about its practicality remained.

Traditional quota trading between fleets and between nations can help alleviate the likelihood of chokes developing. The Landing Obligation means that quota trading likely to become less flexible as fishing bodies keep back quota as ‘insurance’ against getting choked. Other quota distribution methods are needed to ensure a stalemate doesn’t arise. The UK Government has said it is working closely with the UK fishing industry to ensure maximum quota distribution efficiency, including extensive consultation to gather experience and knowledge of quota allocation processes.

Choke issues have also been at the forefront of collaborative work carried out by sea-basin-wide advisory bodies, the ‘Advisory Councils’, where stakeholders have been working to identify choke livelihood and methods to counteract these risks. See the North-Western Waters Advisory Council ‘Choke Mitigation Tool’ as an example.


The Lords Inquiry

In late 2018, in the months preceding full implementation, the House of Lords EU Energy and Environment Sub-Committee examined the likely effectiveness of the Landing Obligation in UK waters. Their February 2019 report concluded that the UK was not prepared for full implementation as the phasing-in stage had seen little change to fishing practices. Given this lack of preparation, many predicted that the introduction of the Landing Obligation would lead to widespread choke incidents, possibly even within the first few weeks of implementation.

However, when the Lords published a follow-up report in July 2019, they found the first six months of implementation had not led to many choke events. Nor had there been many significant increases in landings of fish that would have previously been discarded. The Lords report draws attention to three potential explanations for this unexpected trend:

A significant number of fishermen are not complying with the new legislation and are continuing to discard fish at sea;

Recent improvements to gear selectivity have significantly reduced unwanted catches;

Choke species have not been abundant since full implementation - although this explanation is less widely supported.

It is likely that all three of these possible explanations have played a role, but the lack of recorded discards, both historical and current, makes it extremely difficult to decipher the causes behind this unexpected trend. The Lords report urges both the UK government and devolved administrations to remedy this going forwards.


Non-Compliance

The Lords report suggests that a significant number of vessels may have continued to discard fish at sea, discouraged from compliance by the penalties that landing all their catch could incur. Since most vessels do not carry surveillance systems, it is impossible to measure the extent of any illegal discards.

Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) systems on vessels, which incorporate CCTV, GPS and other sensors, could be installed to help tackle any issues associated with continued discards. The Lords report recommends this approach to ensure compliance, yet the practicalities of carrying this out are complex and would incur significant costs and many fishermen find them overly intrusive. Despite this, CCTV remains one of the most feasible methods to ensure compliance. Other methods - such as patrol boats, air surveillance or onboard observers - are considered impractical given the size and range of the UK fleet.


Gear Selectivity

The lack of chokes and ‘unwanted’ landings observed could also be a consequence of improvements to gear selectivity. Improvements in selectivity, especially net mesh size and geometry, have been taken up by many vessels, reducing unwanted catches. This is good news for stock management, but proper monitoring is needed to assess the impact of selective gear uptake on fish stocks.

Selective fishing gear is a key method in working towards eliminating bycatch and discards. It can keep fishermen’s income flowing, reduce risk of chokes and ensure long-term stock sustainability. There is a lot of research in this area currently, with results being collated and made publicly available by initiatives such as GearingUp. However, gear selectivity can only do so much - some species are just too similar in shape, size and behaviour - and substantial bycatch of many species will continue, so this does not negate the need for monitoring compliance.

It is often a hefty investment on the part of the fishermen to install new gear, which is why Government assistance is necessary. Incentives can be granted to fishermen to encourage uptake, including a greater share of fishing quota.

What happens next?

The UK Government supports the Landing Obligation and it is very likely that it will remain in place following the UK’s exit from the EU, however the form in which it is implemented may change. The draft Fisheries Bill allowed for extra flexibilities to support fishermen in dramatically reducing discards, whilst also keeping fishing businesses afloat - for example, a central quota pool was proposed to act as a buffer against choke risks. From this pool, fishermen would be able to access additional quota if a limited, choke, stock threatened to curtail their fishing activity for other, more abundant species.

It is uncertain what action the government will take regarding monitoring and enforcement. If REM becomes compulsory for UK vessels, the UK could insist that any vessels from other nations fishing in UK waters must also follow the same regulations. Some industry representatives say that fishermen need to be granted greater incentives to comply, but the Lords report raises concerns that this would give the impression that the legal requirement to land all catch is voluntary.

The Lords report recommends that bycatch reduction plans, incorporating REM and selective fishing gear, should be developed by the Government as quickly as possible. They urge the Government and fishing bodies to heed scientific advice and ensure that the UK fishing industry develops a reputation for legal, sustainable fishing in all of its waters.

Skipper’s tickets for 7m to 16.5m boats by 2020

‘Grandfather’ exemptions for existing skippers

New skippers of vessels between 7m and 16.5m will be required to hold a skipper’s certificate by 2020, under MCA plans announced by maritime minister Nusrat Ghani during the recent Maritime Safety Week.

“The MCA is looking, by 2020, to require skippers of vessels between 7m and 16.5m to hold a skipper’s certificate, as well as to implement a new code of practice for fishing vessels under 15m, which will include stability requirements.”

Initial discussions focused on requiring skippers of all vessels under 16.5m to hold a ticket, but the industry argued that this would make it difficult for new entrants to the industry. Their argument was accepted, and the cut-off size of 7m was agreed.

Industry representatives also persuaded the government that the requirement must not apply to existing skippers, and that there must be ‘grandfather rights’ to exempt them.

At present, anyone can skipper a vessel of up to 16.5m and take it anywhere, as long as they have a sea survival certificate. This is valid for the first three months that they skipper a vessel, but during this time, new-entrant fishermen must also acquire firefighting, first aid and new-entrant safety awareness certificates.

Skippers of 16.5-24m vessels must have a minimum of a Class 2 deck officer watch-keeping certificate, and are restricted to fishing in a given area.

Robert Greenwood, safety and training officer at the NFFO, said that the planned change had been anticipated for some time, and struck the right balance between improving safety at sea and minimising the burden on the industry.

“There’s a very good argument that the current situation is not good enough if we are serious about wanting to improve safety, and reduce accidents and losses of vessels and lives.”

“The UK doesn’t allow someone without a licence to drive a car, so it’s reasonable to expect someone taking a fishing vessel to sea, with responsibility for people’s lives and safety, to have some training and a qualification.

“It cannot be acceptable that people can enter the industry with little or no experience, buy a boat of doubtful provenance, and go to sea with an unqualified crew. In those circumstances, it is literally an accident waiting to happen.”

Grandfather rights
Robert Greenwood said that the industry had been talking to the MCA about this for some time, and had insisted that there had to be ‘grandfather rights’, so that the new rules won’t apply to existing experienced skippers.

“We have said we won’t tolerate this unless everyone who is currently doing the job is exempted and it will only apply to skippers of the future, although the admin for this will be quite difficult,” he said.

“You don’t have to register to be a skipper, so it will be difficult for the MCA to verify who is a current skipper for the purposes of grandfather rights. It’s important to know in advance how this will be implemented.

“There is also a protection element – once you’ve got grandfather rights, they should be permanent.

“The potential from this change is good – the downside is if the MCA makes the grandfather rights too complicated, or imposes unacceptable requirements, in which case the industry will be forced to object.”

Training
Another issue is what kind of training will be required. “There is a huge range of different types and sizes of vessels in the 7-16.5m range, fishing in a wide range of different fisheries and regions,” said Robert Greenwood.

“What is the qualification we’re going to accept for a skipper of a boat between 7m and 16.5m? Is the current Seafish certificate going to be the right one?”

He drew attention to the fact that at no point is the skipper of an under-16.5m boat required to have any navigational qualification.

“If we want to get the accident and death rate down, we need to have a period of service before someone can take a vessel to sea, regardless of what training they get. You shouldn’t be able to take a boat to sea with no experience, and be in charge of a crew.”

Robert Greenwood said that the industry would need to have complete faith in grandfather rights exemptions from day one, for anyone currently skippering an under-16.5m vessel, if it was to back the new requirements.

“We will hold the MCA to its promise that grandfather rights will apply to existing skippers, and on that principle, we cautiously welcome this initiative,” he said.

“We think this is a fundamentally positive step, but there is still a long way to go to sort out the details.”

Through the Gaps thought for the day:

If the government is so concerned about the safety of all seafarers - then why doesn't it legislate for all those who go down to the sea on jet skis, yachts, motor yachts and other 'leisure' craft with not a single form of accredited certification required - technically you could by the Queen Elizabeth II, register her as a motor yacht and sail away in her!

Social Survey of fishers feasibility study now published.

Earlier this year, the CCRI was commissioned by Defra to conduct a feasibility study for a new social survey of fishers. The final project report, has recently been published and is now publicly available.

Through a combination of desk based reviews and stakeholder consultation via interviews and workshops, the project aimed to understand the extent to which a new social survey of fishers could add value to the existing evidence base and begin to identify areas of consensus on social data needs. Discussions, recognising that fishers are a hard to reach group, explored alternative approaches for implementing a survey, in terms of sampling and data collection strategies. As the project progressed, it became clear that any new social survey is likely to be more successful if designed and deployed collaboratively between government, researchers and fishing stakeholders. Indeed, stakeholders indicated that a survey that is jointly designed, funded and delivered, would achieve better response rates and support from fishers. The project team therefore sought to develop a framework for a co-produced survey that would actively involve a variety of stakeholders from policy makers through to fishers themselves.

The CCRI project lead, Dr Julie Urquhart, commented that a new social survey is needed “to provide social data, which is currently lacking, to inform the development of social objectives in fisheries policy.” She explained that the framework for co-production of social fisheries data, which was developed by the project team in consultation with fisheries’ representatives, recognised the particular needs and challenges of bringing together a diverse set of stakeholders in a co-design process, but also the benefits of doing so.

Towards a framework for the co-production of social evidence for fisheries governance in the UK from Countryside and Community Research Institute

The full report is available here: 

Feasibility study for a survey of fishers – FX0112 – Defra Science and Research Projects

Dr Urquhart attended the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) in Gothenburg on 9-12 September 2019. The event attracts hundreds of delegates where the latest marine science topics are discussed and ideas exchanged. The findings from the feasibility study for a survey of fishers were presented by Dr Urquhart in a session on balancing the social, economic and ecological impacts of small-scale and recreational fisheries. 

More information regarding the conference can be found on its website. It is also possible to follow events with the hashtag #ICESASC19.