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Wednesday 8 June 2022

On World Ocean Day - bass hunters.

Cap'n Cod beating his way home from the Runnelstone Reef.

On #WorldOceanDay, lets not forget that our fishermen from Cornwall along with thousands of others around the world along with the 'cow-boys' who fish off the Breton coast - all pit their wits and skills in the enduring battle between man, the fish they chase and the elements. Though these days increasing bureaucracy and legislation must seem even more insurmountable than the heavy swell these single handed fishermen often face.


This article, courtesy of Paris Match, tells one such story, one that is repeated all around the oceans.



"Alone aboard small boats, about thirty men perpetuate angling off Finistère. Where the earth is dying and the ocean is rising, the saying warns: "Who sees Ouessant, sees his blood, who sees, Sein sees his end." But, under the leaden sky, this broth bristling with reefs is so rich in plankton that it attracts some 130 species of fish, including bass: the Holy Grail.

 
It is a formidable, shapeless, unpredictable sea. A sector where it is not good to venture when one has a bad heart. The Iroise Sea, which bathes Finistère, obeys nothing and no one. The waves of the Atlantic end their mad race there by mixing with the tidal currents. “Between the Ile de Sein (see the web cam below) , Le Four, Ouessant, Pointe Saint-Mathieu, Cap de la Chèvre, Pointe du Raz, everything is nothing but a garden of thorns on a medieval sea that would defend itself against the intruder. 



So speaks Olivier de Kersauson. The intruders here are the men: around twenty angling fishermen throwing themselves into the broth every day, armed with a line and a hook. Alone aboard small overpowered boats, they risk their necks for one of the most sought-after fish on the French coast: the bass. It's spectacular fishing, a furious ballet where the man confronts the animal "fairly", tiller wedged between the legs, throttle in the left hand and simple rod in the right hand. From the coast, tourists watch the rodeo. "They're cowboys," tells us an old Breton woman out to air her hair. Swell cowboys. Welcome to the West Lighthouse."

Monday 6 June 2022

Monday market in flaming June.


Looks like the boys on the St Georges are working their way through the gear to make it fish better...


landing mackerel ate last for the handliners working in the Bay...


Monday morning's market was full of line caught pollack...


mackerel...

bass...

and more pollack...


while the main market hall was full of top quality turbot like this 12+kg, that's 2 stone turbot in old money...


plump red mullet...


inshore ray wings...


specimen brill...


if you enjoyed Mark Jenkin's film 'Bait' then head down to Newlyn Filmhouse and enjoy some fine food and the fishing story film Luzzu


heading in with 230 boxes of prime MSc Certified hake...


Alan Dwan at the helm of the new 
Kelly Of Ladram...


and quickly ties up alongside the fishmarket...

there's just time to grab a quick cuppa...


the boat has a uch neater working deck for the guys handling the nets in her covered stern net pounds...


before the fish are lifted from the fishroom...


it's all smiles with the crew down in the fishroom...


as the Kelly of Ladram  lands the iceworks berth is busy with boats taking both ice


 and fuel. 

Monday 30 May 2022

Final #FishyFriday and a Moray in May.

As far as we know, this is only the second Moray eel landed in Newlyn in living memory...


unlike lobsters which are landed by the ton every week...


an unusually big shot of cod for this time of year...


by special licence,  a handful of netters can land spurdogs up to 180 stone - that's 11043.05kg in new money per month...


they, along with these cracking hake made up Friday's fish landings...


there's two sides to every turbot...


never short of Dovers...


whereas mackerel are still heading the hard-to-catch list...


they look good enough to eat raw...


it's Dory time...


these Mediterranean octopus make delicious eating...


in between trips...


first big yellow-welly cat for the year.


 

Open Days at SCT - Tuesday 31st May and 21st June 2022.





Want to be a fisherman?


31 May and 21 June from 10.00 
Please call in at SCT Training HUB in Newlyn.

Both Open Days will give anyone of any age with an interest in becoming a fisherman a fantastic opportunity to meet and talk directly with istructors and skippers from Newlyn.

You will have the opportunity to explore the different routes into a career in fishing including what qualifications you need, finding work and the different roles within the industry. Our experienced Instructors and some local Skippers will be on hand to answer any questions you might have.

Programme for the Day:

  • 10:30 Welcome and Introduction
  • 11:00 Newlyn Harbour Tour with Andy Wheeler
  • 11:30 Routes in working on fishing boats
  • 12.00 Knots & Ropes Workshop with Freddie Bates
  • 1:00 Refreshments and meet local skippers

These events are part of the recruitment and build up to the 3-week introduction to commercial fishing courses running in July, but will also serve as early taster days for the upcoming fishing apprenticeship. SCT want to show that there are routes into working on fishing vessels and to let people know what qualifications we can offer.

SCT have been working alongside careers advisors to notify them of these events, so will be specifically targeting school leaver age not just people who are already working. As part of the taster days, we are trying to make sure we get some younger fishermen involved, to help build discussion and answer any questions.

Commercial fishing is an incredibly rewarding way to earn a living - and, as a bonus, experience life at sea with all that it has to offer.


SEAFOOD CORNWALL TRAINING 


Admiralty Boathouse
23 The Strand
Newlyn
PENZANCE
TR18 5HL
United Kingdom

Tel: 01736 364324

info@seafoodcornwalltraining.co.uk

We are open from 8.30am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. 
The office will be closed on 2 and 3 June Jubilee Bank holiday. We will reopen 6 June.

All enquiries are treated in confidence.

Thursday 26 May 2022

MMO MOVES ON RESTRICTIONS IN 13 MPAS



The MMO has launched a ‘call for evidence’ on the impacts of fishing activity in 13 MPAs, reports Tim Oliver.

It says the evidence call is to progress conservation efforts in the MPAs. It follows new byelaws to prohibit ‘damaging fishing activity’ in four MPAs last month, including Dogger Bank and The Canyons, which will come into force on 13 June (Fishing News, 28 April, ‘Government announces new byelaws for MPAs’).

The MMO is seeking views on the impacts of bottom-towed gear (BTG) fishing in the MPAs, which contain some of the most sensitive features at risk from bottom trawling.

The evidence put forward will be used to inform the MMO’s draft assessments ahead of formal consultation in the autumn on management of the sites.

The NFFO slammed the announcement as another step in the rushed implementation of management measures in MPAs, which gave no time for proper consultation and assessment of complex issues. It would also create more displacement issues which the government was doing nothing to address, it said (see below).

Map showing the Stage 2 MPAs. (Image: MMO)

The call for evidence applies to the following ‘Stage 2’ MPAs:

  • Cape Bank
  • East of Haig Fras
  • Farnes East
  • Foreland
  • Goodwin Sands
  • Haig Fras
  • Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton
  • Hartland Point to Tintagel
  • Land’s End and Cape Bank
  • North Norfolk Sandbanks and
  • Saturn Reef
  • Offshore Brighton
  • South of Celtic Deep
  • Wight-Barfleur Reef

The MMO said it would review all the information received, carry out ‘appropriate consultation’ with stakeholders, and implement management measures to ensure the MPAs are protected.

It said: “Our intention is that the MPA fisheries assessment will be finalised, and any necessary management implemented, by summer 2023.”

Further proposals and another call for evidence on Stage 3 of the MPA management measures will come in the autumn.

This will cover everything not already covered by the Stage 1 and 2 MPA management processes, including how all other fishing gears will be managed in MPAs, and protection of highly mobile species.

The government intends that all management measures in MPAs will be in place by the end of 2024.

The creation of the draft MPA fisheries assessment for the 13 MPAs has involved analysing the best available evidence to determine the resilience and recoverability of selected reef and rock features to the impacts of BTGs, said the MMO.

Fishing activity data was also used to understand the level of activity in each of the sites.

Input and advice was also sought from the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies and IFCAs on the draft assessment.

Before the final decision on management measures to be adopted and any byelaws, there will be a formal consultation in 2023.

The MMO is considering the following high-level management options to further the Stage 2 MPAs’ conservation objectives:

Option 1: No fisheries restrictions. Introduce a monitoring and control plan within the site.

Option 2: No statutory restrictions. Introduce a voluntary agreement.

Option 3: Reduction of pressures associated with BTG(s) of concern, through zoned management (partial site prohibition of these gears over areas of highly sensitive designated features).

Option 4. Removal of pressures associated with BTG(s) of concern through a whole-site prohibition of these gears.

“Any management measures will apply equally to all fishing vessels, regardless of nationality,” says the MMO.


The call for evidence will run until 10 July. The draft MMO assessment documents, including all relevant information on how to contribute to this process, are available here.

Tuesday 24 May 2022

FWA calls for legislation change to protect migrant workers in UK fishing



As usual, some parts of the media are quick to use what are the actions of a minority to exaggerate or distort the real picture - never let the truth get in the way of the real story it seems when it comes to lurid headlines and selling papers or subscriptions. As a result of a very negative story recently published in the Guardian the Fishermen's Welfare Alliance was moved to publish this on behalf of all those (the vast majority) of skippers and boat owners.

The Fishermen’s Welfare Alliance released a full statement on the recent reports from the ITF and the University of Nottingham.

Speaking on behalf of The Fishermen’s Welfare Alliance, Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said: “It is a reality that migrant workers are a vital and likely permanent feature of parts of the UK fishing sector – much as they are in other industries and professions. We value the contributions these workers make to our industry and in turn we want them to feel valued. They are skilled individuals, and fishing industry representatives worked hard for fishing crew to rightly be recognised as skilled workers in the government’s new immigration system.

Maritime Systems Ltd - IVMS device under-12 metre fishing vessels “The FWA therefore unreservedly condemns the reports of abuse and exploitation that were published last week. Such behaviour is deplorable and utterly indefensible. However, it is wrong to assume that the issues raised are endemic across the UK fishing fleet – they are not, and indeed the University of Nottingham report made clear that its findings were based on a small sample that was not chosen at random, so its findings cannot be generalised.

“The UK fishing industry strives to be a modern and attractive employer. It is clear that these reports, while they represent a very small and atypical minority, undermine the credibility of this ambition. We are disappointed that, rather than working with us, the University of Nottingham and the ITF chose not to engage the FWA in its work, or to share the details of their research prior to its release.

“Lurid headlines leave a stain on the whole industry, regardless of the sample size and methodology used. They tar the vast majority of fishermen who are horrified by these reports with the same brush as the perpetrators of the crimes. They also serve to undermine the efforts industry is making to encourage fishers to come to the UK through the skilled worker route. We deplore ill treatment of anyone in our industry, but we also deplore the misrepresentation of our industry.

“There is a raft of strong, protective modern legislation in place in the UK fishing industry, and active and engaged regulatory bodies with powers to enforce it. The MCA recently undertook an unannounced inspection campaign of hundreds of fishing vessels across the whole of the UK. The MCA did not raise any issues with industry concerning the working and living conditions or treatment of fishing crew.

“What the reports have done, however, is shine a light on issues that we have been raising with government for many years – that the transit visa system is flawed and that the skilled worker route which is now available, is not working. It is unfortunate that the reports did not tell the full story. Those parts of the fishing industry that rely on migrant crew have been seeking an alternative to the transit visa for many years now. We hope that the ITF research highlights why the fishing industry needs an alternative immigration option, and why the government must work with us to make the skilled worker route actually work.“

Ms Macdonald added that the immigration system needs to work better, the task ahead cannot just rest with the fishing industry. The FWA is calling on government (including Defra, Home Office and MCA) to work collaboratively on this and is:

  • Seeking a roundtable with Defra and the Home Office to address, once and for all, the issues that exist with the transit visa and to identify and implement the appropriate solutions for the catching sector to recruit the crew it needs.
  • Engaging directly with MCA on the enforcement of the ILO.188 regulations and their concentrated inspection campaigns 
  • Inviting the ITF, Seafarers Charity and the University of Nottingham to meet to discuss their findings, to share details of the work that industry has been doing over several years and to establish what further steps may need to be taken. “There is no benefit to anyone, least of all migrant crew, from further embedding polarised perspectives on this matter,” said Ms Macdonald. 
  • Seeking to establish a forum that will bring together all parties in the supply chain so that we can look at this as a shared problem and explore shared collective solutions. 

 “Finally, given the severity of the issues contained in these reports, we fully expect that the information has been shared with the police and other relevant authorities so that the appropriate action can be taken. We neither want nor will tolerate individuals who behave in the manner alleged in our industry.”

Saturday 21 May 2022

Fishing News awards 2022 - Amanda of Ladram, boat of the Year!



Congratulations to all concerned for building the Amanda of Ladram which was the latest new build to join the Newlyn fleet in 2021 and the winner of Boat of the Year in this year's Fishing News Awards. She featured on Through the Gaps at the time after sailing down from Whitby where she had been built by Parkol Marine.




Waterdance's latest vessel to join  their ever-expanding fleet is PW-6, the Amanda of Ladram, skippered by Jonathon Walsh. The largely Newquay based skipper and crew will operate mainly from Newlyn targeting mainly MSc Certified hake.

 


the boat is currently fishing north of the Scillys...




and, like all the vessels in the fleet she will overland her fish from Newlyn to be sold on the market at Brixham.