Friday, 24 July 2026

Blue fin tuna on another flat calm FishyFriday in Newlyn!

That's a tidy little inshore crabber in the making...

landing time at the market for Danny and the Twilight on Thursday evening...

visual evidence of how a dropping tide reveals itself in fine weather with seaweed piled up on the beach at newlyn Green - the gaps between the tide lines on the beach further illustrate what is called the 'tidal co-efficient', the degree to which a tide changes between tides varies, Breton trawlermen fishing for langoustine off ornwall use the co-efficient as a guide more so than the height if the tide...

mirror-like morning in Newlyn...

the ever-optimistic resident harbour seal...

Friday's market was heavily supported by the beam trawl fleet with plaice...

red mullet...

and megrims coming from the Cornshman, and Twilight...

inshore Dovers frm young Richard...

while the netter Ygraine landed hake...

and the Britannia V found a few dogs...

to go with their hake...

the Stelissa managed to avoid a bulk haul of dogs this trip...

its crawfish time again...

on a busy market...

Tom made the most of the fine weather with the Milennia...

alongside Dovers from Danny boy...

not so sure the buyers will be so keen to see the boxes stacked like this come picking up time...

there's plenty of ice over all the fish in the hot weather...

fresh blood = fresh fish...

mackerel!...

and a pair of blacker than black lobsters...

what's in the bag?...

one 82kg...

and a handy 91kg bluefin tuna...

young Mr Smith is back landing prime pollack...

ther sardines are here...

and another brace of big bluefin from the Weymouth registered, Ocean Echoes...

good shots of tagged bass finished off the fridge fish this morning...

yachts were berthed everywhere in the harbour overnight, necessitating an early exit for those of them in the big fishing berths, 30ft of plastic is no match for 200 tons of steel beam trawler trying to manouvre in the harbour...

there are a dozen or so designated leisure berths on the pontoons...

this time of year sees an influx of viting boats like the Golden Promise...

astern of the Claude Henry and the Saxon Spirit...

and the Henry Monty...

tons of sardines headed for the processor...

in Redruth.

Wednesday, 22 July 2026

The Marine Management Organisation want to hear about your experience of using the marine plans

Are you a decision-maker or a proponent in one of England’s marine plan areas? Do you have experience of using the marine plans in another capacity, or a strong interest in marine planning in England?

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) have just launched the latest monitoring survey for all marine plan areas in England, providing an opportunity for stakeholders to feedback on marine plan application and effectiveness. The monitoring survey is open until 11^th September 2026.

We are interested in how the marine plans are being used to inform development of terrestrial local plans. We are also interested in how they are being applied in development management. Your feedback is important to us.

The monitoring survey is your opportunity to tell us how marine plan policy is being considered at all stages of the application process and in the formation of local plans and development.

Marine plan policies cover a varied range of activities that support the sustainable development of our marine environment, from aquaculture to aggregates, renewables to seascape, and ports and shipping to tourism and recreation.

Information on marine plan policy can be viewed spatially on our Explore Marine Plans interactive digital tool.

To share your views please complete the monitoring survey.

The monitoring survey will close on Friday 11^th September 2026

The survey should take about 30 minutes to complete. It does not have to be completed it in a single session, you can leave and return to it later (provided you use the same computer and you do not delete your browser history).

Your activity may occur in an area which occurs in multiple marine plan areas, in which case we would greatly appreciate your responses to the survey for both areas by selecting all relevant marine plans.

Please complete your survey in full before submitting, as we are unable to accept partially completed surveys.

Tuesday, 21 July 2026

EU & UK - fisheries consultations and changes to technical measure

Mesh size changes are the order of the day

2026 Supplementary Fishing Measures

To help certain fish populations recover, the EU and the UK have agreed to introduce extra fishing rules for 2026. These rules add to the existing laws and specifically target the Celtic Sea, the English Channel, and the Irish Sea.

Celtic Sea Protection Zone

Scientific experts recommend that no cod, haddock, or whiting be caught in the Celtic Seas in 2026. To help these species recover, strict rules will apply in the Celtic Sea Protection Zone (specifically covering areas 7f, 7g, the northern part of 7h, and the northeast part of 7j):

Standard trawls and seines: Vessels using otter trawls or seines must use either a 120mm cod-end, or a 110mm cod-end paired with a 120mm square-mesh panel.
UK exceptions for standard trawls: In UK waters east of the 5 degrees West line, an 80mm cod-end is allowed if paired with a 120mm square-mesh panel, provided cod, haddock, and saithe make up less than 10% of the trip's total catch. Inside 12 nautical miles of the UK coastline in area 7f, vessels can use a 100mm cod-end with either a 100mm square-mesh panel or a single-twine net up to 5mm thick.
Targeting anglerfish, hake, and megrim: If these species make up more than 55% of the catch, vessels must use a 100mm cod-end with a 100mm square-mesh panel. In EU waters, a 100mm "T90" cod-end and extension is an acceptable alternative.
Targeting Norway lobster: If Norway lobster makes up more than 30% of the catch, vessels must use an 80mm cod-end paired with a specialized escape device.
Approved escape devices: Acceptable devices include a Nordmøre sorting grid (a rigid grid with bars spaced up to 35mm apart and a 120mm square-mesh panel), a Netgrid device (an inclined 200mm diamond-mesh net with a top escape hole), or a SELTRA 300mm square-mesh sorting box (a 3-meter long box section with a wide mesh top).
Temporary escape devices: Vessels may use a 300mm square-mesh panel instead, but only until the end of 2026 while authorities test how well it avoids catching cod, haddock, and whiting. Any other unlisted device must be proven equally effective and approved by a joint technical group.

The English Channel

Cod, sole, and plaice populations are severely depleted across the entire Channel (areas 7d and 7e), alongside haddock and whiting in the Western Channel (area 7e). The following rules apply for 2026:

Standard trawls in the Western Channel (7e): Vessels using otter trawls or seines must use a minimum 100mm cod-end. In EU waters, this specific rule applies when cod, haddock, whiting, and saithe make up more than 25% of the catch.
UK exceptions in the Western Channel (7e): In UK waters west of 5 degrees West, vessels must also use a 100mm square-mesh panel. Inside 12 nautical miles of the UK coast, the 100mm cod-end can be made of single twine up to 5mm thick.
Upgrading smaller mesh gear (7d and 7e): Vessels that previously used cod-ends smaller than 100mm must now upgrade to at least a 90mm cod-end. This affects beam trawls, otter trawls, and seines in the Western Channel (7e), and beam trawls and seines in the Eastern Channel (7d).
EU catch rules for smaller mesh: In EU waters, the 90mm rule applies if sole and plaice make up more than 30% of the catch, as long as cod, haddock, whiting, and saithe remain under 25%.
UK exceptions for smaller vessels: In UK waters across the Channel, beam trawls can still use an 80mm cod-end if the vessel is 12 meters or shorter and has an engine power of 221kw or less.
Existing safety measures: All prior selectivity measures still apply. For example, beam trawls in the Western Channel must continue using a net panel with at least a 180mm mesh size in the upper front part of the net.
Future updates: Authorities plan to introduce further rules for otter trawls in the Eastern Channel (7d) by mid-2026, aiming to increase the minimum cod-end size to 90mm.

The Irish Sea

Whiting and cod stocks are critically low in the Irish Sea (area 7a). The following rules apply for 2026:

Targeting Norway lobster: Vessels using otter trawls or seines where Norway lobster makes up more than 30% of the catch must use an 80mm cod-end. However, single-rig vessels have a special exemption and may use a 70mm cod-end.
Required escape devices: All vessels targeting Norway lobster must also use an approved selective gear. This includes a Nordmøre sorting grid, a Netgrid device, or a SELTRA 300mm square-mesh sorting box.
Temporary devices: Vessels may use a 300mm square-mesh panel until the end of 2026 while its effectiveness is tested. Smaller vessels (under 12 meters in length) are allowed to use a 200mm square-mesh panel during this testing period instead.
Alternative devices: Any other gear must be approved by a technical group and proven just as effective at avoiding cod and whiting.

General Rules and Implementation

Calculating catch percentages: Catch proportions are determined by the live weight of all marine life kept on board at the end of each fishing trip.

Monday, 20 July 2026

Mirror-like Monday morning in Newlyn!

Looks like Mr Pascoe is off hunting bluefin this morning...

still good landings of octopus from east of Newlyn...

and the odd mackerel!..

the sardine season is now in full flow...

the apprentice beats the master - young Will with the Rachel & Paul would have put a smile on Chris Morley's face for sure with a haul of bass bigger than the main man on the Butts!..