Through the Gaps! - Newlyn Fishing News Cornwall UK fish commercial fishing fish cooking and art

Monday 9 December 2019

Monday morning in Newlyn

Thanks to the storm force winds over the weekend these netter and the rest of the fleet are tucked up in port this morning...

after the Stelissa and her partner ship Silver Dawn put ashore two big trips of mainly hake...

while the St Georges put ashore a huge 300+ box trip of mainly megrim and monk from the deeper waters south west of Newlyn along with the Sapphire II...

big turbot...

big monk heads for crab bait...

and plenty of haddock...

while a few handliners managed to brave the strong winds on the shore grounds to land a few boxes of squid...

the netters also landed the odd red bream...

and all but used up their months quota of spurdogs...

to go with their MSC Certified Cornish hake...

well spotted!..

Newlyn boats are constantly bringing debris they have trawled up form the depths, this time the rail of a small boat wrapped in French trawl net...

the crabber Nimrod is ready to land...

to the waiting lorry from Grimsby...

as skipper Ben checks over the details with the driver - then has to decide whether to head back out to sea again - or not...

seasonal gift-wrapped hake from the Govenek of Ladram......

fancy a scallop or two?..

stars on the market this morning...

with both auctioneers in full swing...

it's not called a shout auction for nothing!

Saturday 7 December 2019

Fathom podcast number 2 - we're talking safety at sea!

The second Fathom podcast on safety at sea in the local fishing industry threw up some challenges for inshore fishermen who now have a legal requirement (ILO 88) under expected to wear pfds while they are at sea.

Crewman Luke Selvey talks about an incident from earlier this year when a fellow crewman aboard the Brixham beam trawler Emilia Jayne was plucked from the water wearing a pfd in weather conditions that, should he not have been wearing one, would certainly have cost him his life.

Working space on the cramped deck of the Nazarene - where pfds proved uncomfortable and restrictive.

However, Porthlevener Jeremy Hosking, skipper of the inshore crabber Nazarene would happily have his crew and himself wear a pfd but in his words, "We can't physically do our job with it (pfd) on"! Not for the first time has legislation been brought in without sufficient research having been done as to the suitability of the equipment. Given that the new legislation concerning the wearing of such safety gear now affects thousands of fishermen in the UK and potentially millions worldwide you would like to think that a manufacturer will finally get to grips with this challenge and come up with a practicable pfd for seafarers working in confined spaces. It will make them loads of money and save hundreds of lives!

The new ILO 188 encompasses a new set of rules and regulations fishermen have to follow, but what does it mean when it has to be put in to practice on the water? Fathom is here to help fishermen find out.

Stelissa crew all wear pfds when landing on the quayside.

Also in this episode, the team speak to NFFO's Safety Adviser and Safety Folder Founder, Robert Greenwood and Clive Palfrey Cornwall's Fishing Safety Adviser about where ILO 188 came from, what the safety folder is how it can help make fishermen safer and what drills and risk assessments fishermen need to be doing by law. They also speak to the Skipper and the Owner of the Cornish fishing vessel Stelissa about their innovative approaches to safety on board.

Helpful links:
Risk assessments
Safety Folder
ILO 188
Fishing Safety Adviser (Cornwall)
Seafish Training Providers

Social Media
Fathom
Ryan Davey (Skipper of Stelissa)
Luke Selvey
SCT Training

Funders
Seafarers UK
MMO

Friday 6 December 2019

Chefs galore at Padstow's 12th Christmas Festival - not to be missed!

Padstow Christmas festival Film from Barefoot on Vimeo.

It's that time of year when Cornwall's most popular chefs wend their way to the fishing port of Padstow for the annual Christmas Festival - music a-plenty, Christmas markets and a dazzling array of cheffery drawn from what looks like a Who's Who of the UK's finest fish chefs - all under one roof!

You can bet your bottom dollar that most of the fish being baked, fried, poached and grilled has been landed within the last few hours from boats fishing from all the Cornish ports!

Turn up and choose your chef from the list which also includes award winning chefs like Jude Kereama from Porthleven and Bruce Rennie whose restaurant The Shore has just been voted best restaurant in the South West by this year's Trenchermen's Guide!