You can help save, 'This Fishing Life' in Cadgwith.

The penultimate episode of BBC2's This Fishing Life episode 5 featured the fishermen and fishing community of Cadgwith, the UK's southernmost fishing village at the foot of the Lizard peninsula facing directly into the heavy Atlantic winter swells. Boats are launched and retrieved up the beach as the cove's fishermen have done, for centuries. 

Pounding seas on the shingle, Cornish gig rowing competitions, singers huddled round huge real fires in the Cadgwith Cove Inn; fishing life and the sea pervade every twist and turn of the cove's well-worn cobbles and is the very essence of what makes it such a unique place to visit. 

Home to innovative fishermen artists like Simon Bradley and Nigel Legge it's a plein air artist's dream location, Likely Lads star, Rodney Bewes made it his home for years and local characters like fisherman Martin Ellis who featured in Mark Jenkin's award winning film Bait (which the Guardian described as a, 'defining film of the decade') on the very subject of second home developmen all make this fishing community the genuine article in an age of faux aged-paint finishes and fabricated history. 

It would be no exaggeration to say that if the fishing community of Cadgwith lost all three buildings to second home developers then the very lifeblood of the village would rapidly ebb away on the next tide.

And then, there's actual fish! In 2012, Cadgwith was the subject of Monty Don's 'Fishermen's Apprentice' when the presenter made an admiral attempt to make a living as a share fisherman - this clip exemplifies the incredibly important role these small fishing communities and fishermen like Danny Phillips provide - it is simple enough, they land the very highest quality fish- much of which you can buy in the cove!

What's the big issue? There are three old buildings in Cadgwith Cove that are used by the fishermen to store their gear and process their catch. They also house a very popular art gallery and two shops selling fresh fish.

Cadgwith Cove Fishing Trust Crowdfunder

"We are the Cadgwith Cove Fishing Trust, and we are a charitable trust whose objects are the improvement maintenance and protection of the historic communal fishing facilities in Cadgwith Cove in the parish of Grade Ruan.

We aim to purchase the historic fishing buildings to protect them from development and maintain for the local fishermen in perpetuity. Once we have raised the £300,000 required to purchase the historic fishing buildings, any excess will be used to renovate and repair the buildings, provide an even better environment for the local fishermen to work in.

We would also like to provide some public access with exhibits showing the history of the buildings and the trial and tribulations of the fishermen who have worked there over many centuries, and made it the vibrant community we enjoy today.

We are trying to put together the funding to buy all three buildings to keep them safe from the ever-present threat of development, which here would mean conversion into yet more second homes and holiday lets.

Cadgwith is visited each year by thousands of holidaymakers. If our fishing activity ever came to an end, the tourism industry would shrink and many local residents would lose their main source of income. The fishermen are at the heart of our strong sense of community and we are doing whatever we can to support them.

Our master plan is for the local parish council to take the freeholds of the buildings in order that they may be held in perpetuity for the fishermen and then for our not-for-profit charitable trust to look after the day-to-day management of them. There will be covenants requiring the buildings to be used by fishermen as long as they are so needed and preventing them from being sold for anyone's private gain. The parish council will still exist in fifty or one hundred years time and will use the buildings for other community purposes if there was no more fishing out of the cove. There can be no element of subsidising the fishermen. They will pay an economic rent, enough to cover all expenses of maintenance and repairs.

We are already well into realising the plan. The council is raising a loan to buy one of the buildings and there is widespread support from parishioners even though the loan repayments may cause a small increase in their local council tax.

For the other two buildings, we have had professional surveys and valuations that tell us we need to find £300,000 to buy and repair them.

This crowdfunding project will hopefully be large enough to form an essential component of that funding.

If you are able to help us, we and the fishermen of Cadgwith will be very grateful for your assistance."

Cadgwith Cove Fishing Trust 

The object of our trust is protection improvement and maintenance of the historic fishing community buildings in Cadgwith Cove in Cornwall.

A hard-won trip for skipper and crew of the god ship Enterprise.

Looks like the Unity won't be gong anywhere for a day or two...

first time visit for the visiting Brixham based Joy of Ladram skippered by local skipper Nathan Marshall...

she is an older version of the lates beam trawler to join the Newlyn fleet, Enterprise...

there's only a handful of netters and crabbers left in the port after the last eight days of appalling weather...

which skipper Billy Worth described as some of the worst prolonged poor weather he has fished through...

so the boys are doubly happy to set up the landing ear...

don the remote gilson controller which involves some light footwork from the skipper...

watched over by Nathan aboard the Joy of Ladram...

landing eight boxes at a time...

it doesn't take long...

for brothers Ian and 'Little' Graham...

to bring 280 boxes ashore ready for tomorrow's auction.

 

And you think we have problems with a handful of EU fishing vessels off our coast?

When you have a population of over 1,398,000,000 who need feeding and they love seafood, especially squid, along with a few neighbours with a similar appetite for such fish - just how do you satisfy demand?

Well, one way is to sail your fleet of squid catchers...

to the east coast of Argentina and the rich squid grounds north of the Falklands

 from all corners of the globe, across the Indian and Atlantic oceans...

or the Pacific, where, as of this morning, there are currently over 300 squid fishing vessels, mostly Chinese along with a handful of Korean and Japanese vessels working the Patagonian Shelf - many appear to be unregistered as fishing vessels - as can be seen from the spreadsheet below provided courtesy of VesselTracker AIS.

After crossing the Pacific, China’s fishing armada is now off the Argentine coast. The Argentinian government is playing down the issue, saying that it is negotiating with China, while refusing US help. Environmental groups call for international regulation.

Buenos Aires (AsiaNews) - A “floating city” of hundreds of mostly Chinese-flagged vessels, looking for squid and other species off the coasts of the Caribbean and South America, is now approaching Argentina’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

Such a presence and the imminent start of its activity, a plain and outright plunder of natural resources, is possible only because of the lack of regulation of fishing in international waters and the lack of real controls by coastal states, like Argentina.

This is taking place amid alleged negotiations between China and Argentina over a fishing agreement; meanwhile, the Kirchnerist government of President Alberto Fernández rejected US help to discourage illegal fishing.

The United States offered the services of the most modern vessel in its Coast Guard, US Coast Guard Cutter (USGC) Stone, which is currently on patrol in the South Atlantic. The Argentine Foreign Ministry turned down the offer of collaboration, noting that such a ship will be received in the next few weeks in the port of Mar del Plata only on a courtesy visit.

Argentinian authorities said that the surveillance and control of the country’s fishing and maritime areas are carried out “exclusively with the means and personnel of the Argentine State”, whose function is to protect national sovereignty and the country’s resources. In addition, they proudly note that in 2020 they captured three illegal foreign fishing vessels, “a number not reached since 2005”.

The temporary suspension of the activities of just three of the more than five hundred boats as well as the fines for fishing in the EEZ, which were increased at the end of last year to about US$ 150,000, will not affect a business worth millions.

China’s fishing armada is the same that pushed the Ecuadorian government last July to call for monitoring China and sped up a few months later an agreement between Ecuador, Chile, Peru and Colombia to adopt steps to prevent, discourage and fight illegal fishing off the Pacific shores of South America.

A number of environmental organisations are now calling on the Argentinian government to exert greater control over the country’s coast to prevent fishing in Argentina’s EEZ.

For Argentinian environmentalist Diego Moreno, an independent consultant and a former environmental policy secretary, the underlying issue is not the arrival of some boats engaging in illegal practices since the squid stock, or that of any other species, is the same whether it is 199th or the 201st mile.

Feasible options exist for what seems like a dead end, however complex they may be. They include, according to Moreno, regional fishing agreements within the framework of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Sea (UNCLOS), joint initiatives in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity for fishing in areas outside national jurisdictions, and bilateral agreements between countries.

The expert notes that the negotiations to manage shared resources in the South Atlantic have so far been held back by the dispute with the United Kingdom over the territorial rights of the Falkland Islands. So he is betting on international regulatory standards, “an issue that will undoubtedly be central to the environmental agenda of the coming decade.”

Full story courtesy of AsiaNews.IT   

Huge plans to redevelop historic Newlyn fishing port

Plans for a breakwater, marina, watersports facilities, maritime industrial estate and housing.

How Sandy Cove could look with the new breakwater and deeper port for larger fishing vessels.

Newlyn Harbour Commissioners and its advisory board have shared an initial outline of plans for the improvement and update of the historic fishing port’s infrastructure at a time when Brexit has put added pressure on the Cornish fishing industry.

The plans would see the creation of deeper drafts to cater for bigger fishing vessels, a breakwater to protect the town from stormy seas, a maritime industrial estate, marina, watersports facilities and housing.

A spokesperson for the project said: “Parts of Newlyn and the fishing industry locally are in desperate need of more support.

“By offering improved facilities, a better working environment and providing a base for marine skills, we can ensure that the way of life in Newlyn cannot just continue but flourish in a way we have not seen in decades.”

Newlyn’s harbourmaster Rob Parsons added: “We want to bring Newlyn to the wider community, supporting our local small businesses and artisans, creating a destination that embodies all the skills, trades and traditions that the town has in abundance. 

“We are seeing an increase in larger fishing vessels in Newlyn, with local companies investing in the future of fishing, which gives us great confidence, and as a port we need to do everything we can to facilitate them.”

He said: “Newlyn lands in the region of 14,000 tonnes of fish annually with a value of £30 million and we are in a great position now to build on that and for local fishermen and fish producers to capitalise where they can, using Newlyn’s location to the prime fishing grounds to our advantage, ensuring the fish caught in our waters comes through our harbour entrance and into our auction.”

The plans initially focus on developing Sandy Cove to enable Newlyn to welcome boats with deeper drafts and offer a safe haven in all weathers.

A proposed breakwater will act as protection from the storms to the town’s existing piers, which have seen storm-driven seas sweeping over the harbour walls in recent weeks.

How Newlyn could look from above if the breakwater is built (Image: Newlyn Harbour Commissioners) The long-term plans include a maritime industrial estate, marine skills centre, marina, leisure, watersports facilities, transport links and housing.

Mr Parsons added: “We aim to bring people together, in such a way that allows the industry to work, whilst tourists and locals alike can enjoy the benefits of fresh fish, incredible vistas and the unique connections with the rich heritage of Cornwall and artisans that are in abundance in Newlyn.”

The plans are in the initial stages and with “positive comments already coming from Cornwall Council” the advisory board is now inviting stakeholders and members of the public to bring ideas and concepts as well as suggestions that can benefit the overall goal.

The project’s spokesperson added: “The Harbour Commissioners and Advisory Board are hoping the planning and discussion stages will help bring the plans to the hearts of the people, and it will in turn feel like a local community project, where everyone involved will feel proud of what has been achieved.

“Plans of this scale can only be achieved when everyone works together and from the initial reaction from the advisory board’s research, it really feels like what is needed can be delivered under the leadership of Cornwall Council, and the guidance and investment from Newlyn Harbour, Marine Developments Limited and the private business sector.

“This is the opportunity to grab the bright future that Newlyn deserves, that will benefit Newlyn, Penzance and the whole neighbouring area for many years to come.”

Cornwall councillors will receive a presentation of the plans by the Newlyn advisory board this Thursday.

Concept plans can now be viewed online on the advisory board section of the harbour website.

Full story courtesy of Cornwall Live 

By chief repoprter Lee Trewhela.

Jersey: French fishermen caught up in post-Brexit bureaucratic storm

 

Many people breathed a sigh of relief after the UK and EU reached a last-minute post-Brexit trade deal last year. But for French fishermen in Normandy and Brittany opposite the Channel Islands, Brexit spells disaster. The accord nullified their access to fish in Jersey's territorial waters. After pressure from Brussels and France, the island issued temporary licences to French boats – but these are due to expire at the end of April. 

Full story courtesy of FRANCE 24's David Gilberg and Julia Kim who went to meet fishermen caught up in the post-Brexit bureaucratic storm.

It's not only the UK that has issues with giant Dutch company Cornelius Vrolijk.

We regularly talk about "giant trawlers" ... But why is this fishing model called into question by artisanal fishermen and environmental associations? 

The Scombrus is a giant 80-meter trawler, launched on September 25, 2020 in Concarneau, by the company France Pélagique, a subsidiary of the Dutch group Cornelis Vrolijk. Fishermen and civil society then mobilised, making it possible to shed light on this vessel. 

Indeed, France Pélagique has only French in name. It is a subsidiary of a Dutch industrial fishing empire: Cornelis Vrolijk. This arrangement allows Dutch boats to be registered in France, and therefore to fish on French quotas. At 52m However, the fishing capacities of giant trawlers are disproportionate: up to 200 tonnes of fish per day. This is as much as what the auction of Lorient, the largest French auction, deals with. The fish is directly frozen and packaged on board. 46m So, to be profitable, the owners of these boats must have a lot of quota. 

Hence the takeover of foreign companies by Dutch companies. But in the countries in question like France, it is the resource of artisanal fishermen that is monopolised Water wave Charles Braine and 9 others recently bought the LABBEL NORMANDY, a trawler very well endowed with quota. The boat's quotas were then moved onto the company's giant trawlers, before the boat's crew were fired and disposed of. A social scandal. Charles Braine and 9 others 37m Other groups like Parleviet Van Der Plaas also own certain French armaments. In France, shipping lines such as Euronor, the Saint Malo Fisheries Company, the French Oceanic Tuna Company and France Pélagique belong to Dutch firms Charles Braine and 9 others

Cornelis Vrolijk, Parlevliet & van der Plas (P&P) and Willem van der Zwan own, through their subsidiaries, 17 giant trawlers over 80 meters in length which operate in European waters. These three companies, which were initially family businesses, have now absorbed many European companies. Their empire is accumulating more and more quota, whether through the ITQ systems in Holland and the UK, or through the purchase of boats in France.

We are therefore witnessing a generalised grabbing of quotas and therefore of marine resources, by the shareholders of these Dutch groups. However, the efficiency of these boats is strongly criticised by artisanal fishermen.

In fact, in addition to the fishing capacity of 200 tonnes per day, we can also ask the question of by-catches. These boats work in French waters before disembarking in the Netherlands, and the fish are already conditioned: what about the controls?

In addition, the fish caught (mackerel, horse mackerel, anchovies, herring) are species which are also exploited by artisanal fishermen. The latter therefore have less quota, and see the stocks of the species they target strongly impacted.

In addition, these fishing methods are financed with public money. Since the early 1980s, the European Union has put several billion euros in public subsidies on the table to develop its fishing capacity. The majority of aid concerns manufacturers.

The domination of this model is called into question by associations such as @PleineMerAsso and @Bloom_FR.  Unfortunately, the shipowners in question are extremely well represented in the fisheries bodies: this will be the subject of a future THREAD.

Further information from Josse Tibault at the Pleine Mer organisation. (Deep Sea)

The whole fish and nothing but the fish - Kokotxas comes to Newlyn!

Forgotten Fish is an exciting and innovative fishmongering venture set to bring a whole new world of fish preparation and cookery to Cornwall with a strong Celtic cousin's link. Son of the fish merchant dynasty, Trelawney Fish and a self-taught chef, Richard Adams is looking to provide the county's outstanding fish chefs and more adventurous fish loving home cooks with an entirely new range of cuts based on the concept of using 'the whole fish'!

Through the Gaps recently discovered the concept in the form of a new cook book from that exciting Aussie chef, Josh Niland - The Whole Fish - especially as many of the recipes can make use of the huge variety of fish regularly available on Newlyn fish market...

just one example being a recipe for sardines and anchovies - fish often caught together by the Cornish sardine fleet from July through to January and beyond.

 

Up first for dissection are what is known as, 'Kokotaxas'.

These compact triangles of flesh show the hidden potential in forgotten cuts. Found on the underside of a hake, the throat essentially, in the Basque region of Spain they are revered for their uniquely gelatinous texture and delicate flavour. 

I’ve searched for figures on the value of this tiny bite to the Spanish fishing fleet, who cut them at sea, but come up blank. What I do know is that a selling price of €60/k is standard, and based on an annual catch three times the UK, they probably represent not insubstantial worth to Spanish fishermen. Spain’s premiere supplier of kokotxas, Paco Ferreres - ‘El Rey de Kokotxas’, sells over 200k of them every week! This remains an untapped resource in Cornwall however, where kokotxas are unknown to fishermen, fishmongers, and processors.

It takes around 100k of whole fish to produce 1k of kokotxas, which gives some idea of how labour intensive the process is. But there is value in that time. Over 12 000 tonnes of MSC certified hake was landed into Newlyn in 2019, around half of which were prime size fish for extracting kokotxas, this could represent around 60 tonnes of high value fish going to waste annually - which seems environmentally, economically, and gastronomically illogical. 

Here in the UK it takes someone like @tomos_pp @bratrestaurant to give them a deserved place on the menu. Richard first sent a box from Cornwall to London to feature on the menu of a collaboration between Brat and @elkano_jatetxea , the Basque temple of seafood where he first tried kokotxas. For him it still feels unreal to be supplying Brat and he is proud to see these Cornish delicacies as a constant fixture at one of the best restaurants in the country. Tomos’ approach of serving unrivalled produce in a way that genuinely puts the ingredient first, the perfect celebration of the kokotxa! His support for Forgotten Fish has been instrumental in enabling Richard to pursue other goals for the business.

Richard goes on to explain the thinking behind this exciting new venture for Newlyn; Forgotten Fish aims to reduce waste within the fishing industry by reconsidering the value of lesser used species and cuts, and connecting chefs and restaurateurs in support of creating more sustainable practices within the sector directly to the supply chain at ports and processors. An estimated 57% of the UK’s fish and shellfish resource - that is the total of what we catch or farm - is classed as waste and does not reach our tables. Of this, 17% is constituted by discards, 5% by processing at sea, and a huge 35% by onshore processing. If we were to reclaim just 1% of the 35% of waste created at the point of onshore processing across the country, it would equate to nearly 3000 tonnes of edible fish per year. 

Instead of just coveting the fillet, Forgotten Fish promotes more specialist cuts like cheeks, collars, throats and bellies to the food community, finding markets with chefs who are keen not just to support sustainable projects in their restaurants, but also to experiment with underused parts of the fish - often delicacies in other countries - giving their menus an edge over others just serving conventional cuts. In addition to this there are many species traditionally considered to be of little value, usually destined for the crab pot as bait, that chefs are willing now more than ever to put on their menus, celebrating the diversity of our waters and reducing strain on more popular and overfished stocks. 

By promoting these species directly to the new wave of young and experimental chefs who want to cook with them, we can find markets for fish that were otherwise considered bycatch, reducing waste and increasing revenue to fishermen. This is a gift of food from an existing resource, increasing productivity and profitability in the supply chain without putting any additional strain on fisheries. Put simply, making the most of what we already have. In the context of today’s environmental situation, not just with regards to fish stocks and sea health, but more broadly concerns over food deficits and shortages, we are simply not in a position to be wasting food like we do. 

An increasing concern across all sectors, it will not be long before the focus is turned to the fishing industry to question what is being done to protect our natural resources for the future. The concept has already proved hugely popular in the food community, attracting attention from some of London’s most celebrated chefs such as Tomos Parry of Brat, Isaac McHale of Clove Club, and Santiago Lasta and Douglas McMaster of soon to be opened Kol and Silo respectively. In addition to the more high profile names, and without active promotion, word has spread and requests poured in from many other chefs keen to support Forgotten Fish. The only thing restricting sales and growth until now has been the availability of ‘waste’, and resources and time to upscale the project. 

The opportunity here lies in the fact that there is no shortage of waste, just a lack of systems in place to capitalise on it. By working closely with wholesalers, processors, fishermen and chefs, and reconsidering the conventions of processing and selling fish, the project could save a large amount of our catch from becoming waste, creating revenue and jobs in the process. 

The statistics show what could be done on a wider scale if success was proven at a local level, and the opportunity for Newlyn to be a leader in implementing such change could be a huge boon to the status of the port. Forgotten Fish so far has reclaimed and sold around 700k of fish, all of which would have been waste, in just 7 months of operation, with very little resources, one employee working part time, and the ‘waste’ from just one medium sized processor. With the aim of raising this figure to one tonne within the first year, a powerful statement could be made regarding the possibility further research and resources could offer, offering real hope for change and setting an example for the industry to follow.

This is blue sky thinking, and there would no doubt be barriers to making it reality, but given the potential here for flavour, and revenue, perhaps kokotxas should become a staple of the Cornish hake fishery?