Has the octopus bloom wilted to nothing? Monday morning's market tells the story.

Crabber duo; Isabelle leads in the Isabella for the gaps...

some visiting yachts choose to spend the night outside the harbour and no doubt enjoy waking up to a fine view of the Mount from their chosen anchorage...

Bite Adventures heads away to sea with another band of hopeful anglers on board...

closely followed by the more traditionally hulled Orion...

just ahead of the Alrescha as she speeds away from the gaps...

Admirals Gordon and Grenville graced Newlyn with their presence this weekend...

as the Winter of Ladram lands her trip of shellfish...

the crabbers join the queue to land alongside the market...

which was well supplied with fish from a couple of the bigger netters...

with hake from the Stelissa...

and Ygraine...

at this time of year the netters often pick up a few craws...

while they also work their trammel nets to target monk...

and turbot...

which with the price of turbot these days can be very lucrative...

well, it's looking pretty much like the octopus bloom has faded away, gone are the days of seeing 40 tons on a Monday morning auction filling this end of the market entirely...

sardine sampling in full swing - the Cornwall Sardine Management Association prides itself on the amount of data generated and collected by the fleet which all helps contribute to such a sustainable fishery - data led management the key to is success...

the South West Handliner's bass fishery is another long-standing successful fishery - young Will Roberts with the Rachel & Paul being the latest to join the fleet and target bass when time, tide and weather allow.

Newlyn Market Report: An Action-Packed Week on the Auction Floor

What a week it has been at the Newlyn fish market! The auction experienced a massive surge in volume as the week progressed, culminating in a spectacular Friday session. Over the course of the week (July 20th–24th, 2026), the market moved a staggering 180,185.73 kgs of seafood, generating a total value of £1,109,170.95.

The week started off steady, took a mid-week dip on Wednesday and Thursday, and then exploded on Friday with over 81 tonnes landing on the market floor in a single day.

📊 Weekly Volume & Value Breakdown

• Monday, July 20: 29,005 kgs | £155,402

• Tuesday, July 21: 45,592 kgs | £287,656

• Wednesday, July 22: 15,062 kgs | £122,359

• Thursday, July 23: 8,935 kgs | £53,983

• Friday, July 24: 81,590 kgs | £489,770

🏆 Top Species by Volume and Value

The undisputed king of the market this week was Pot Caught Mediterranean Octopus. A massive 49.4 tonnes were landed over the five days, generating an incredible £214,126. Seeing this volume of Mediterranean Octopus in Cornish waters continues to highlight shifting marine ecosystems, but the market is certainly capitalizing on the demand.

Top 5 Species by Volume:

1. Mediterranean Octopus: 49,464 kgs

2. Megrim: 11,266 kgs

3. Bass: 10,889 kgs

4. Lythe (Pollack): 9,636 kgs

5. Monk / Anglers: 9,396 kgs

Top 5 Species by Value:

1. Mediterranean Octopus: £214,126

2. Bass: £114,423

3. Monk / Anglers: £110,527

4. Dover Sole: £103,238

5. John Dory: £79,310

💰 Price Highlights: The Premium Catches

When it comes to the highest price per kilo, flatfish continued to command the absolute premium end of the market.

• Turbot took the crown this week. Large Turbot (6Kg+) fetched a staggering maximum average price of £34.74/kg on Friday.

• Dover Sole was not far behind, with large prime fish (801g+) pulling in £32.65/kg, and medium sizes (501-600g) holding strong at £31.61/kg.

• Bass and Tagged Bass also performed incredibly well, regularly clearing the £22–£24/kg mark for large, line-caught fish.

🦈 Unusual and Notable Catches

It is always fascinating to see what surprises the fleet brings in, and this week did not disappoint:

• Tuna: A highly notable landing of 2.85 tonnes of Tuna came through the market, fetching excellent prices up to £22.50/kg.

• Blue Shark: A small landing of Blue Shark (38.5 kgs) was recorded, fetching £0.36/kg at auction.

• Crawfish: A healthy showing of Crawfish (over 1 tonne total) made its way to the floor, commanding solid prices up to £10.04/kg.

• The Rarities: Tiny volumes of some very niche catches were observed on the floor, including just 1.5 kgs of Greater Fork Beard, 7.2 kgs of Sea Urchins (fetching £1.98/kg), and a handful of Trigger Fish (18.6 kgs) which topped out at a respectable £6.18/kg.

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.