Prawn trawler Orion in Newlyn.

Orion, also known as the 'sailor's star' is actually a constellation and so named as it is visible the whole world over and therefore when looked at provides a constant connection between loved ones at home and a sailor wherever they may be......

we don't want to scratch the hull...

Orion BF432 basking in the morning sun - she was built by MacDuff Shipyard for the Harvey family and launched in April 2021 shortly after the Newlyn based Crystal Sea was launched at the same yard.

Newlyn, flat calm and full of fish.

Spring-like morning are becoming a thing as we step into the merry month of May...

quality hake-a-plenty...

 came via the Ygraine...

and a few boxes of spurdogs...

 

while the market had a good supply of quality flats from both inshore and beam trawlers like the le Men Dhu...

and the Billy Rowney...

haddock and whiting make them selves available to the inshore boats fishing south and south-west of Mounts Bay...

a fine brace of small-eyed ray wings...

Dover...

and lemon soles from the big beam trawler...

together with John Dory now show in increasing numbers as we edge towards the summer months...

and shift in the wind saw mackerel begin to bite handliner's hooks again...

every plaice has a different set of spots, some only faintly orange, others more intense...

even so, this would have been many hours worth of jigging those mackerel feathers...

a fine pair of monk tails...

a hazy start to the day for those boats between trips...

the Trinity House vessel, Galatea at anchor.
 

EFRA COMMITTEE TO HOLD INQUIRY ON UK SEAFOOD FUND

The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee is to hold an inquiry into the new UK Seafood Fund.

The purpose of the inquiry by the cross-party select committee is to evaluate how effectively the UK Seafood Fund will meet its stated objectives, and how well the government is delivering on the promises it has made to the fishing industry. The inquiry is intended to influence the implementation of the fund to maximise its effectiveness.

The £100m fund, which was set up following a commitment made by prime minister Boris Johnson in December 2020, is in addition to other UK funding that has replaced EU funding for the sector following Brexit.

The government has said that the objectives of the UK Seafood Fund are to:

• Reform and modernise infrastructure in order to ‘level up’ and bring economic growth to coastal communities 
• Ensure the best science, research and technology is used in fisheries management 
• Encourage new entrants to the industry, while upskilling current members 
• Enable an environmentally sustainable fishing industry. 

There will be three funding streams within the UK Seafood Fund: Science and Innovation; Infrastructure; and Skills and Training. There will also be a £1m fund to support access to external markets.

Among the issues the EFRA inquiry will look at will be:

• How the Seafood Fund will meet the prime minister’s commitment to modernise fishing fleets and the fish processing industry 
• Whether the fund will promote economic growth in coastal communities 
• What science and innovation development the fund should prioritise 
• How the fund should be used to improve the environmental sustainability of the fishing industry. 

The committee is inviting written evidence about the UK Seafood Fund from people engaged in the fishing and seafood sector, those living in or representing coastal communities, expert commentators, and others. The closing date for submissions is 10 May.

Other information will be sought by the committee by inviting witnesses to its oral evidence sessions. In general, most evidence sessions are held in public, are announced in advance and can be watched on parliamentlive.tv

For more information about the inquiry, or to submit evidence, click here.

Final Newlyn #FishyFriday in April

These days, inshore fishermen like their predecessors are rigged to fish using a range of methods...

Friday morning's market was mainly stocked with landings of net and trawl fish like these big blondes from the netter,  Britannia V...

and a good run of hake from the netter Silver Dawn...

and a few sharks...

while the trawler Spirited Lady III landed a solid trip...

which included these potentially painful but delicious greater weavers...

and some cracking Couch's bream...

haddock...

lemons...

early season John Dory...

and red mullet...

alongside a day trip of fish from the New Venture...

another milestone in the history of Newlyn will come to pass today, this will be the last time the tray for fish tallies...

will carry those from Newlyn Fish Company...

seen on these boxes of monk and Dover soles for their final auction bids - full story to follow soon...

time for the fish to be whisked away...

mackerel are still proving hard to catch for the handliners working close inshore even though there are plenty of marks - the prevailing easterlies would appear to be to blame for their reluctance to chew on the hooks used to catch them......

what fish were landed came from the nets of the hake boats...

though some inshore boats did find a few bass to lure aboard...

it is not just fishing vessels that frequent Newyn, the very functional very square-lined workboat Effy D...

visiting seine netter Acionna with more shapely lines sports a more traditional Scottish canoe stern...

while visiting Belgian wooden yacht Gutland shows off her rather dainty stern in the morning sun...

oh! the joys of mending on the quay, least it's dry...

traditional black and gold colours for some of the Cornish fleet...

while others go for more arresting colours like the more contemporary orange of the Hosking fleet...

this substantial stanchion has been installed to accommodate the end of the new barrier that will soon restrict vehicular access restricted by aid of numberplate recognition technology to the...

Mary Williams pier, opened by the Queen in 1980 - since then, times have changed and the huge growth in creating new HSE rules and regulations which keep lawyers and other's pockets lined which will potentially and seemingly inevitably see much of the harbour closed off to members of the public...

though this local resident has other ideas...

fancy a pint and a plate? - the Red Lion does some fine fresh fish dishes including its stonking crab soup

not a bad morning to be haling inshore pots either.