UK needs Department of Maritime Affairs says leading Fisheries Consultan

Listen to this hugely important Fishing Daily podcast from Terri Portmann, fighting the corner for all inshore fishermen throughout the UK who are having to deal with a massive increase in legislation, monitoring and control like never before.

Terri Portmann is a Fisheries Consultant from Plymouth on the southwest coast of England. Terri has been a lifelong advocate for the fishing industry and has appeared to give evidence in front of Parliamentary Committees, and is actively involved in campaigning for a positive change in public and government attitudes towards fish and the industry.

In this podcast Terri tells Oliver of her upbringing in Looe, Cornwall that forever shaped her relationship with the fishing and seafood industries.

On Thursday 21 July 2022, Terri wrote an open letter to the Secretary of State for Defra, George Eustice, stressing the need for him to call for a root and branch review of the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), which she and many others in the industry feel is a state body no longer fit for purpose, and is currently wasting taxpayers’ money on endless consultations and reviews that are unnecessary if the correct procedures were carried out properly in the first place.

Terri gives the Inshore Vessel Monitoring System (I-VMS) rollout and the CatchApp (an app designed for submitting the estimated weight of fish before landing) as two examples where the MMO simply did not meet the standard required.

Another issue facing the industry is the weight of new legislation being foisted on small-scale inshore fishermen. After the CatchApp and I-VMS, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are demanding that small boat owners increase the safety standards onboard their crafts. Because of this, the inshore fleet are facing an uncertain future, as the costs involved are above what many boat                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  owners can afford. Also misinterpreted enactment of regulations in relation to safety legislation have been recognised but, all in all between everything, it has been a mentally strenuous time for these fishermen.

With so many Departments and government bodies involved in the fishing industry, Oliver asks Terri if it might be time for the government to consider an amalgamation that would leave life easier for fishermen.

Final #FishyFriday in July!

Not a bad start to the day at 6:30 am...

check out these superb summer season red mullet...

when not seen together blonde and spotted rays are easily confused as the size of the spots can vary hugely...

the spots on spotted rays go all the way to the edge of the wings...

one day there will once again be a fishery for congers...

a brace of end-of-season spiders...

young Mr Smith landed a top quality dollop of line caught pollack...

as bass go, these are the best...

summer is here and so are the Cornish sardines - check your local Morrisons...

band of blues-brothers...

Little Graham at speed...

the Imogen still knows better than any other how to catch those JDs...

squid fishing is still a tad slack though...

today's selection of inshore trawl fish, the best in the west...

the Maverick in the fleet.

 

Newlyn Lobster Hatchery back in action.

 

After several years out of commission the Newlyn lobster hatchery is back up and running with enough funding to keep it re-stocking the waters around Penwith with juvenile lobsters...

Here, Dr Carly Daniel checks over thousands of newly hatched lobsters some of which have only hatched in the last 24 hours...

at this stage (Stage 1) the tiny fish, just 10mm long are kept in tubs along with their siblings, aerated seawater and fed a diet that is constantly being modified as ongoing research determines the most effective to promote healthy growth...

at stage 4, after several moults, the lobsters have to be kept separated as by now they are capable of determining in which direction they can swim - and lobsters are most definitely cannibalistic - given the chance eventually there would only be one very well fed lobster left in the tank if left to their own devices...

once stage 5 has been reached the lobsters are now said to be truly benthic and able to survive in close proximity to the bottom of the sea where they able to protect themselves by burying in the sand...

it is at this stage that they are released into various suitable locations around the Penwith coast in order to best distribute the young and help grow the local lobster population and enable sustainable fishing for the future......

the second of the two converted shipping containers on the Stone Quay are home to the hatchery itself where the 'buried' female lobsters with a belly full of eggs...

each have their won tank in which to reach the hatching stage - each tank identifies the date and fisherman who provided the lobster, in this case, Andrew Stevens who fishes from Newlyn with his boat, Benediction...

this gallery of images captures a day in the life of an inshore lobsterman.

Fishing Survey - Trust relations between fishermen Defra, IFCAs and the MMO.

The last few years have seen a rapid rise in the breadth and depth of rule changes, legislation and regulation heaped on the catching side of the industry - from the implementation of ILO188 to the introduction of a plethora of rules and monitoring for the very smallest vessels - which make up 80% of the fleet

This very short survey will help assess attitudes to the three main organisations that affect the lives of thousands of fishermen on a day-to-day basis. It will give a view based on data rather than the often negative responses seen on social media throughout the K.

Once you have read the information at the start, please use this chance to take the survey - there are only three main questions to answer.

Monday morning's market full of 'ake and 'addock!

Bit of a dull day after all the recent blue skies, one of every kind of fishing boat in the arbour at the moment...

hake landings over the weekend included a big shot form the Ocean Pride....

plus a few cracking tubs...

and hake form the Ygraine more than enough to keep the buyers busy...

the netters with their 120mm mesh only catch decent sized haddock...

with whole monk on the market you know that there is a Scotsman in town, in this case the seiner, Acionna...

good ray fishing with some of the inshore boats...

while there are at last a few signs of John Dory landings increasing...

as each...

of the day boats...

managed at the very least four boxes apiece...

the megrim lookalikes are witches...

and plenty of haddock from the seiner...

some of the inshore guys picked up some good landings of Dovers...

and more Dory...

as well as these lovely red mullet...

and more Dory!..

Couch's bream, fantastic fish for a big family BBQ...

more Dory...

and still more...

headless monk, bound for the bait bins...

the yachting season is now officially at its peak with no more spare berths in Newlyn...

work on the Trevessa IV continues apace...

CK25, Venture.

 

Charles and Camilla walk and talk fish in Newlyn.

After an early visit to Mousehole Prince Charles and his wife Camilla headed for Newlyn... 

where, in front of the harbour offices, Camilla spotted a familiar face as Prince Charles was introduced to commissioners and harbour team including Rob Wing seen here alongside newly appointed harbourmaster Jonathon Poynter...

while Camilla shook hands with deputy harbourmaster Jedna Hall...

before the visitors moved on to see examples of tiny lobsters from the Lobster Hatchery project, Dr Carly Daniels here showing off a minute lobster hatched just this morning...

more fishing talk as Tom Lambourn holds up a whole monk while Andrew Pascoe explains to Camilla why it is also known as the angler fish...

Prince Charles took the opportunity and ventured on his own down to the marina berths where he surprised Nathan Thomas and Ifan Williams aboard the Three Jays busy sorting gear...

under a blazing Mounts Bay sun the Royal couple headed...

 for the marginally cooler interior of Richard Adams' Argoe restaurant...

where they were offered some examples of the chef's particular Newlyn sourced delicacies including hake throats. On a visit many years ago to the Pilchard Works in Newlyn, Charles told owner Nick Howell that his father, like many serving in Italy during WWII, had never wanted to see another tin of canned pilchard having loved off endless tins of the South African variety! The couple then moved on to visit Michael Johnson's Newlyn Copperworks, before returning immediately afterwards to dine in peace at Argoe, far from the madding crowd.