Calling all SW trawler skippers - Cefas needs you!

 Are you an otter trawl skipper in the southwest? 

CEFAS are looking for skippers of otter trawlers to take part in their scientific project, looking at catch data.

From 2021, as an independent coastal state, the UK will be able to make decisions about fisheries management which are better tailored to the needs of UK fisheries. To achieve this, we need accurate data upon which to base management decisions and we believe increased engagement with the fishing industry will accomplish this. 

Cefas is currently inviting skippers of otter trawlers working in the southwest to participate in a new scientific project which is focussed on using skipper’s catch data. These data will be verified using remote electronic monitoring (REM) technology, an integrated system of cameras and sensors, to improve our understanding of catch composition in this fishery. 

This project will complement the data collected by the Observer Programme to provide a more detailed regional picture. Through this collaboration, the data we collect will support the UK position in future annual fisheries quota negotiations, with the aim that resulting quotas should better reflect the catches available to the southwest otter trawl fleet. 

The data will also be used to scrutinise the effectiveness of technical measures inherited from the CFP, and to develop measures that are better suited to UK fisheries. The data from this project will not be attributed to individual vessels and will not be used for enforcement monitoring. 

A collaborative project using this technology was recently completed, which improved data on south west haddock catches and was used in the stock assessment. Initially, we are looking to work with the SW otter trawl fishery, where there is currently a demand for data to support decisions, but we aim to roll out similar projects to other English fisheries. 

If you are interested in being part of this project or would like to know more, please contact the project team: 

Sarah Walmsley sarah.walmsley@cefas.co.uk (01502 527790)

Rebecca Skirrow rebecca.skirrow@cefas.co.uk (07876 398192)

Tom Catchpole thomas.catchpole@cefas.co.uk 

If you have broader thoughts or concerns on working with CEFAS, data collection, interpretation/use of data and how it's used, then please let us know. DEFRA has been clear that future fisheries management will be based on evidence and how we provide/contribute to that will be important.

Forget the loaves. With a Brexit cliff edge looming, the question is who will share out the fishes?

The BBC posted a Brexit and Fishing story from deep in the French fishing heartlands of the Channel. 

Referenced in that post, the article below paints a considered view as to the reality fo the negotiations currently underway between the Uk and the EU where, despite its minuscule size in the grand scheme of things, fishing continues to exercise the minds of UK negotiators.

As Britain and the European Union manoeuvre toward a post-Brexit trade deal this week, an industry worth a minuscule share of their GDP — an economic sprat, a mere tiddler — could still sink the talks.

The slippery question causing agitation on both sides is who will have the right to catch what and where once the U.K. carries off many of northern Europe’s richest fishing grounds starting January 1.

The problem could be solved if both sides face their differences honestly and prepare public opinion for compromise. As things stand, a poisonous mixture of political over-bidding and technical complexity threatens to capsize the entire post-Brexit negotiation.

"When Britain joined what was then the European Economic Community in 1973, it agreed to merge its potential 200-mile fishing rights with those of its neighbours."

In the U.K., fisheries account for only 0.12 percent of GDP. But the industry has attained a patriotic symbolism and political strength more inflated than that of the car industry or the City of London. Misleading and emotive arguments about how the EU “stole our fish” in the 1980s have created a sea-monster of overblown post-Brexit expectations that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government cannot now easily kill or tame.

On the EU side, the real economic stakes seem equally small. Only five EU member states — France, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands — are vitally concerned by the loss of fishing grounds in the Channel, North Sea and Atlantic.

For those nations, however, fish is more tangible than many of the other theological-seeming arguments surrounding Brexit. The dispute threatens the survival of age-old industries — vital to the national economy (as in Denmark) or to the prosperity of politically sensitive towns or regions (as in France, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands).

Consider, for example, the northern French fishing fleets from Pas de Calais, Normandy and Brittany. They take up to 60 percent of their catch in what will become British waters from the New Year. They cast their nets on the northern side of the English Channel and in the North Sea but also as far away as the Atlantic coast of Scotland.

These rights were not given to French boats, or taken away from British ones, when the EU fisheries policy was created in 1983 (as U.K. public opinion has been taught to believe). European fisheries had been a free-for-all for centuries before exclusive economic zones were created, first up to 12 miles from coastlines then out to 200 miles by the mid-1970s.

When Britain joined what was then the European Economic Community in 1973, it agreed to merge its potential 200-mile fishing rights with those of its neighbours — something many U.K. fishermen have always resented.

By dint of geography and fish behaviour, most of the richest northern European fishing grounds will be, post-Brexit, within Icelandic, Norwegian waters and British waters. European governments, led by French President Emmanuel Macron, insist that Britain’s departure from the EU must lead to no reduction in catches or access to the new British zone. Otherwise, they say, all other trade deals with the U.K. are off.

This is an unrealistic and absolutist point of view. As the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, pointed out in private to EU diplomats last week, the French and other governments should start preparing the fishing industry and wider opinion for some degree of piscine pain.

If there is no deal between Britain and the EU on post-Brexit trade and other issues, the U.K. would be within its international legal rights to stop all EU fishing boats from entering its economic zone from January 1. Such a ban — as Barnier pointed out — would be even more calamitous for the French and other fleets than a cut in permitted catches or “quotas.”

A fishing war would be equally calamitous for the U.K. — something that the loudest mouths in pro-Brexit politics and in the British fishing industry prefer to ignore.

Some of the most vibrant parts of the U.K. industry have nothing to gain and everything to lose from Brexit. Four-fifths of their catch of shellfish, lobsters, crabs and langoustines are sold overnight to the Continent (mostly to Spain and France). This industry will be destroyed if there is no post-Brexit deal to lighten regulation and keep tariffs off food exports.

European governments insist that Britain’s departure from the EU must lead to no reduction in catches or access to the new British zone.

The present U.K. approach to the fisheries negotiations is an unpleasant blend of shoot-yourself-in-the-foot, beggar-thy-neighbor and dog-in-the-manger.

What would Britain do with all the horse-mackerel and sprats caught in the North Sea by the Danes to grind into pig feed? Or all the French catches of saithe or “coley,” which is little eaten in Britain. Anyone for Coley and Chips?

A more reasonable U.K. approach to the fisheries question would be to seek a deal that increased British catches — but that doesn’t attempt at a wholesale grab of much of the fish now caught by EU boats. In return, Britain should seek relatively easy continued access for British fish and seafood to the EU.

Instead, the British government originally offered the Europeans nothing — except annual discussions on swaps of EU catches in British waters for British catches in EU waters. It then improved its offer to a three-year period of diminishing quotas followed by annual discussions with no guarantees. No industry could be expected to survive on such a short time-horizon.

"In the end, as has been true throughout the U.K.-EU negotiations, there’s a deal to be had if both sides want it enough." 

The British insistence on annual discussions with no long-term fixed pattern of catch shares is now the single biggest obstacle to a deal. It’s also an idea dear to militant British fishermen’s leaders, and a source of great dishonesty on the part of the UK government.

Last month, Britain’s environment, agriculture and fisheries minister, George Eustice, signed an outline agreement with non-EU Norway on future London-Oslo cooperation on fishing. He claimed in an article in the Daily Telegraph that this deal was a model for the kind of annual, no-guarantees negotiations that Britain is seeking from the EU.

It wasn’t. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

A fishing war would be calamitous for the UK

According to the leaked text, the deal is modelled on EU-Norway agreements going back to 1979-1981, giving permanent shares of six main fish stocks. This is close to what the EU is now asking of the U.K. — a lasting share-out of stocks and then an annual discussion on what tonnage of fish is scientifically safe to catch.

If I was a suspicious fisherman, I would wonder if the British government was intending to pull the same trick in talks with the EU. London will claim that it has “won” the battle for “annual” negotiations. It will then point to yearly talks on “allowable” fish tonnages — which have always existed.

In the end, as has been true throughout the U.K.-EU negotiations, there’s a deal to be had if both sides want it enough. They face a choice — between the Devil of a No Deal and the political dangers of the Deep Blue Sea. 

Full story courtesy of Politico

‘The Safety Net’ launched to fight for fishers’ financial resilience

An influential and authoritative event hosted online by Seafarers UK takes forward recommendations from the recent landmark report, “Fishing Without a Safety Net: The Financial Resilience of Small-Scale Coastal Fishers, their Families and Communities” – and aims to transform the finances of small-scale fishers. 

 

Striking findings from research released by Seafarers UK last week revealed the bleak financial reality of small-scale fishers in the UK, particularly share fishers. The comprehensive report, authored in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University, set the stage for urgent, collaborative action to tackle financial literacy and planning among fishing communities, to improve both financial resilience and mental wellbeing. Thursday 8th October saw the first steps to mobilise action, as Seafarers UK hosted an event to mark the launch of a new programme of work inspired by the research.

The two-hour event, chaired by Seafarers UK CEO Catherine Spencer, featured lively and informative presentations from a number of noteworthy panellists. An illuminating overview of the research findings were presented, as well as thought-provoking discussion on the burden experienced by women as ‘invisible’ and ‘informal’ safety nets within fishing families - something that Seafarers UK plans to address with a unique ‘women's network’. This is the first time the research has been publicly presented and findings were well-received by a wide-ranging audience. Fisheries Minister, Victoria Prentis MP, who contributed to the event via a recorded message, supports both the research and the work it has sparked. Minister Prentis said:

“Small-scale fishing is a cornerstone of local coastal communities around our shores.

“I hope that the insights that this report provides will assist in improving the financial health and resilience of our fishermen across the country, as together we tackle COVID-19 and embrace the opportunities ahead as an independent coastal state."

Despite the report exposing a devastating reality for many fishers, Thursday’s event was optimistic, introducing recommendations for actions to create positive change. Deborah Layde, Grants Director at Seafarers UK, outlined ten bold policy and charity recommendations put forward in the research. Proposals included the implementation of a national action plan to address the social, economic and environmental issues faced by the small-scale coastal fishing fleet, and schemes to support new entrants into the sector.

A key finding of the research was the lack of appropriate financial services available to fishers. In response to this, Seafarers UK plan to launch a ‘Fairness in Fishing’ fair pay campaign. This campaign will replicate the benefits, fair compensation, and protections afforded to PAYE employees, whilst still allowing share fishers to retain their autonomy and flexibility - something that the research showed was highly prized amongst fishing communities.

Central to the ‘Fairness in Fishing’ campaign is a newly devised ‘share fisher plus’ cooperative approach, for which Seafarers UK would take on the role of lead sponsor. This innovative model, detailed in the event by Deborah Layde, would support fishers in accessing a range of suitable, competitively priced financial products - such as pensions, illness and critical injury insurance and life assurance - through group purchasing. A feasibility study has been launched to explore uptake and potential delivery mechanisms for this approach.

Commenting on the value of such a structure to the fishing industry, Barrie Deas, CEO of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, said:

“I was delighted to take part in the panel session for the 'Fishing Without a Safety Net’ webinar. The financial resilience of fishing communities is a vital issue and central to a modern and successful fishing industry. The NFFO prides itself in the welfare of its members which is why I am pleased to remain in close dialogue with Seafarers UK and support their work moving forwards.”

Dr Paul A Jones, author of the report and Reader in the Social Economy at Liverpool John Moores University, said:

“whilst the report reveals challenges and vulnerabilities of life as an inshore, share fisher, it also indicates a range of possible interventions that, if implemented, could provide a safety net for people working in the industry and facilitate the financial health and resilience of fishers, their families and coastal communities. This event marks the beginning of change.”

The report emphasises that changes need to be collaborative and occur at both individual and structural levels. Proposed interventions are as varied as up-skilling individuals’ financial literacy, to developing a national credit union, which would provide fishers with access to affordable credit and budgeting accounts for tax and National Insurance. “We recognise the recommendations are ambitious and challenging”, Deborah Layde remarked. “We cannot achieve this on our own. Hopefully today’s event will be a catalyst for good ideas and knowledge sharing.”

The event closed with an extensive and exploratory question and answer session, with participants keen to discuss a range of relevant issues, from offshore wind farm developments to fishing sustainably. Seafarers UK invite views and ideas from more stakeholders - contact grants@seafarers.uk.

Misty Monday morning market in Newlyn.

 

The netter Amanda of Ladram heads out into a misty Mounts Bay long after the Monday morning fish market has finished...

one which saw an utterly delicious but fairly rare for these waters eight-legger the subject of some furious bidding...

crabbers need bait, trawlers catch plenty of lesser spotted dogfish or morki (Cornish for sea dog) to satisfy that need...

top quality fish featured heavily on the market floor like this Couch'e bream...

stunning red mullet...

still-stiff bass...

and perfect specimen jigged squid...

Cod, despite the attention it gets when it come to sharing with the French - we have around 10% of ICES Area VII quota - is only caught in quantity in spring mainly in the waters north of Cornwall...

big blondes...

were among this large haul of ray...

2-3kg bass are proving popular with the handliners, tough they would like to be seeing a much bigger run at this time of year...

one of the few fish that sports the thumbprint of a well-known religious character, but which fish?..

horse mackerel or scad, seldom seen on the wet fish shop slab but a tasty member of the pelagic fish set...

aye-eye...

tub gurnard - an absolute delight to eat baked and encrusted in sea salt - ask your local supplier to get one for when you next entertain 6 people...

last but not least, a full trip of MSC Certified hake form the netter Silver Dawn.

Brexit, Europe and the CFP - Why the UK won't back down on fisheries.

Barrie Deas Chief Executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations Why the UK won’t back down on fisheries

Speculation is rife about a deal on fisheries that would unlock a wider UK/EU trade and partnership agreement.

The issue has now come down to the essentials: whether the EU will move a sufficient distance on quota shares that will allow the UK to grant a level of access to UK waters and to sign a deal. Both sides are politically committed to finding an agreement but the distance between the parties is vast. Conventional wisdom would suggest a split the difference approach could resolve the matter but that would be to miss the essential point.

Quantum and Principle

For the EU this about quantum – how much access their vessels will have to fish in UK waters and how much of their advantage on quota shares can be retained. For the UK it is about quantum too – but it is also about principle – and that is why I do not believe that the UK will back down on fisheries.

The principle involved is the UK’s unhampered ability to act as an independent coastal state in line with its rights and responsibilities under international law, after the end of the transition period. The UK government is acutely aware that it cannot surrender those rights without having to face the question from the people who voted to leave in the referendum: “What was Brexit for?”

Change is Coming

Undoubtedly, the change that will come – with or without a framework fisheries agreement - will involve a huge challenge for the EU fleets. The scale of that change is a reflection of the scale of the advantage that those fleets have had over 40 years, and to what extent the Common Fisheries Policy denied the UK the benefits of its status as an independent coastal state.

President Macron faces an uncomfortable political backwash ahead of an election year if he surrenders on fisheries; but the signs of fissures in the EU camp are already there - in comments made in Berlin - and in rising tensions between the Commission and the five member states who benefit from the current arrangements. The rhetoric is still there but the fishing five are increasingly isolated.

Litmus test

There is a reason that the UK Prime Minister, in his recent call with Commission, underlined the importance of fishing. It is because fishing is an immediate litmus test for Brexit. What Brexit means for the UK’s trade relations with the EU and with the rest of the world won’t be fully known for years – if not decades. We will know, however, if there has been a good or bad deal, or no-deal, on fisheries by the end of this year. Fishing has a political immediacy. It also goes to the heart of the vision of the UK as an independent country outside the EU. That is why I do not believe that we will see a repeat of the 1970s when fishing was considered expendable.

Everything is still in play. The talks continue, and as long as they do, people will speculate.

The NFFO and the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation have made clear what they would consider an acceptable deal with the EU. The final outcome, if there is to be an agreement, will be judged against those criteria and against the fisheries agreement recently signed between the UK and Norway – a model of how two coastal states should cooperate together on the sustainable management of shared stocks.

Paul Trebilcok, chief executive of the CFPO has this to say:

As summer fades over the horizon and the crisp autumnal months begin to settle in, we take this transitional moment as an opportunity to take our busy Fathom schedule back to the quayside and touch base with the CFPO and our co-host Paul Trebilcock, to reflect and forecast.

We answer an array of fishermen's questions that have been bouncing around the quayside in recent weeks, focusing primarily on the turbulent political climate. As key changes such as the Fisheries Bill are seemingly being left down to the wire, our listeners would not be blamed for having questions about the future.

Wondering how Brexit is really going to pan out for the industry? Questioning what the three year transition period will look like? Want to know whether there is room for new measures to help maintain sustainable fish stocks? Curious about potential and emerging fisheries, such as Bluefin Tuna in the southwest? Speculating on what the industry might look like in 20 years? You are not alone.

Tune in as we have a crack at answering some of your burning industry-specific questions - it’s time for a reality check!

By way of contrast, Dennis McShane (ex-MEP)  writing in the New European has another take on how the negotiations between the UK and EU will unfold and why:

Altogether he cites 11 reasons why why Boris Johnson will be bounced into securing a Brexit dealthis is so including this on fishing:    

3) On fishing some live and let fish compromise is necessary before Britain launches an unwinnable fish war with the continent. The Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is no longer the racket it was when Britain joined the EEC in 1972. It is now mainly about conserving fish stocks which is as important to British fishing skippers as their continental comrades.

The British proposal for a three-year continuation of the existing status quo is a start is already a move away from previous demands that all non-UK fishing boats are expelled from UK waters. Lengthen that with a review clause and a guarantee that anything landed in the UK will have automatic tariff and quota free access to European markets and we might get somewhere.

You may also want to watch: More videos for you There is room for big compromise though Macron needs something. There are twice the number of French working in fishing boats than UK (where 30% of on board trawler workers are EU citizens and 90% of workers preparing landed fish). A long lead in transition could sweeten the pill.

and this on cross-channel transport

4) There is a real panic among road hauliers that there will be major blockages in Kent where 10,000 lorries arrive every day bringing 85 % of fresh fruit and veg and 60 % of all bacon, sausages and ham we eat. The other strong pro-Brexit man in the government, Michael Gove has publicly talked of queues of 7,000 lorries. Very few of the estimated 50-60,000 customs agents needed to fill in forms have been hired. I went to speak at a protest meeting of a giant site for a major lorry park on edge of Ashford to take up to 5,000 lorries with testosterone charged drivers hanging around waiting to clear customs. This is not popular in Tory shires.

You  can read the full text and all 11 reasons he cites here:

It's a fairly #FishyFriday in Newlyn!

Forty shades of orange...

always good to see a boat look after their hauls of whiting - one of the more delicate white fish which do not appreciate being thrown around...

plaice...

and monk tails are a little more resilient

as are lemons...

while mackerel need all the TLC they can get...

as do red mullet, their scales don't stay in place for long after entering the cod end......

John Dory...

and ray rank up their with the toughest of them...

while these beautiful squid, their thin, brown outer membrane intact, reflect they method by which they were caught, one at a time using jigs...

big bold bass often fish in a surf break and are no strangers to fighting for their food...

these pristine monk tails...

sans tête...

Red Bull gives you ray wings so the story goes...

time to sort those megrim soles...

plenty of plaice helped make up the 150 box trip from the beam trawler St Georges...

not a breath of wind overnight, which meant that most of the sardine fleet were back in before midnight with their catches.
 

Cornish Sardines galore at sunrise in Newlyn.

Thankfully for the netting fleet, the falling tide has coincided with a drop in the wind which saw them firing up their main engines before sun up, all hands keen to get away to the fishing grounds off the South Western Approaches.....

the new secure fuel oil and stores compound provides different early morning view of Newlyn, with the light from the waning moon hanging over the town...

as the first three of six sardine boats queue up to land having made a dash in the early hours to take advantage of the weather that settled overnight...

Tom Pascoe, one of the youngest fishermen in the port, pushes down his brail while the next is being emptied ashore from Serene Dawn...

away in the distance the Harvest Reaper heads for the gaps...

as the Golden Harvest lays-to, waiting for a berth alongside the busy fish market quay...

down on the deck of the Asthore...

two brails are also in action putting their morning's wrk ashore...

Dan puts the Golden Harvest gently alongside the market...

as his newest recruit to the crew begins the landing process by adding ice to the 450kg insulated tubs...

before she swings the landing crane with a full brail of sardines over the waiting tub...

Abby represents a small but growing trend of female fishers in the port...

though with nine years already spent at sea crewing for big yachts she already 'knows the ropes' in a way that many new recruits don't...

as the sun permeates light in the harbour...

the next boat, Amanda of Ladram takes ice...

while a Stevenson boxes are delivered ready to be put aboard the next beam trawler...

within a couple of hours the harbour is beginning to empty of boats kept in port for poor weather...

the new security compounds now almost full...

as the last few insulated tubs are being filled full of sardines...

Silver Dawn  skipper Tristan takes the stern line...

so that he can slip the boat out of tier...

and take ice...

as the next sardine boat to land, Lyonesse comes alongside the quay...

the waiting Ocean Fish lorry now almost fully laden with the night's catch of sardines...

with just the first haul for some weeks from the Resolute being landed and caught on film by what looks like cameraman Nathan Harrison...

time for the crew on the Golden Harvest  to head back to her berth...

as the local angling boat Mermaid makes ready for another day at sea to take advantage of what seems like an extended post-lockdown tourist season being enjoyed by businesses in the far west of Cornwall.