Newlyn fish market awash with fish!

The Bank Holiday weekends saw just one of the Scottish prawn boats landing...

the ex-Girl Pat III's scalloping set-up...

it's all about the cardboard boxes to pack langoustine in and plenty of pallets to load them into the waiting artic...

marine leisure pursuits are increasing in volume and diversity from the harbour...

the biggest of the crabbers landing...

and one of the smallest boats with Barry at the helm heads for the gaps...

grey mullet are a common sight in the harbour at this time of year...

always in search of an easy breakfast...

it's spider crab season...

a few zarts, as St Ives men call them...

the market on Tuesday morning was end-to-end with fish...

hake...

Dory...

and, unusually, Scottish boat monk tails...

and witches from the Vision V

there were also plenty of JDs landed from the inshore boats...

quality brill from the big beamer...

now, which box of megrims is which?..

pollack landings have been in the news again recently...

summer reds galore...

and more tails...

from the St Georges...

half the market...

and most of the fridge was taken up with octopi...

not that landings of the favourite food for them...

need much space...

or these hen's teeth...

but, for some, there are shoals of bass to chase!

 

Octoplusses!

Beam trawler, stern trawler, potter, twin rigger, potters and a netter, just some of the fshing boat types currntly in Newlyn......

getting in on the octopus fishery, Spanish Eyes III,  takes on a new set of pots to try...

the Resource Centre is nearing completion, currently fitting out is taking place...

one local potter, Lincoln Kirby-bell, is getting in on the octopus bonanza...

haul away, it's Porthleven Sea Shanty Festival this weekend......

el congero...

excellent mix of fish on Friday's market including these cracking red mullet...

Dover sole...

in-season megrim sole...

and tub after tub...

of octopus, apparently the Scillies are smothered with them...

although spider crabs are proving resilient so far with the season not far away...

the question is will these guys make shellfish as rare as...

mackerel which have all but disappeared from landing sheets this year...

the big question is will lobster landings look like this...

or this in the future...

for those prpeared to put in the long steam to the Runnelstone or beyond there are bass around...

which is good for these guys in their punts...

in days of yore, the Ripple fished from St Ives over 100 years ago...

the marina yacht berths are already taken up with transiting yachts.

Newlyn landings and average prices from May 18th to May 21st, 2026.

Preparing to load the grader with Dover sole

• May 18, 2026 (Monday):

  • Total Weight: $44,061.50\text{kg}$

  • Total Value: $\pounds 262,490.66$

  • Average Price: $\pounds 5.96\text{/kg}$

• May 19, 2026 (Tuesday):

  • Total Weight: $27,496.76\text{kg}$

  • Total Value: $\pounds 168,183.95$

  • Average Price: $\pounds 6.12\text{/kg}$

• May 20, 2026 (Wednesday):

  • Total Weight: $16,637.00\text{kg}$

  • Total Value: $\pounds 96,028.70$

  • Average Price: $\pounds 5.77\text{/kg}$

• May 21, 2026 (Thursday):

  • Total Weight: $7,272.28\text{kg}$

  • Total Value: $\pounds 43,890.41$

  • Average Price: $\pounds 6.04\text{/kg}$

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2. Key Features of Each Day's Landings

• May 18th (Monday) – High Volume & Octopus Dominance: This was the highest volume and value day of the week. Landings were heavily dominated by Mediterranean Octopus (Pot Caught), which contributed $40,217.74\text{kg}$ ($91.28\%$ of the day’s total weight) and $\pounds 224,785.07$ ($85.64\%$ of total value). Turbot stood out as the day's primary premium catch, bringing in $\pounds 13,907.96$ at an impressive average price of $\pounds 17.01\text{/kg}$. A total of $38$ distinct species types were landed.

• May 19th (Tuesday) – Peak Peak Diversity & Highest Average Price: While total weight declined, species diversity peaked with $54$ distinct types brought to market. Pot-caught octopus remained the top species ($14,009.84\text{kg}$), but high-value whitefish saw excellent volume; John Dory brought in $\pounds 16,613.60$ ($1,509.40\text{kg}$ at $\pounds 11.01\text{/kg}$) and Monkfish contributed $\pounds 13,550.55$. Dover Sole commanded the highest premium at $\pounds 26.07\text{/kg}$, yielding $\pounds 11,293.78$. This mix resulted in the highest overall daily average price of the week ($\pounds 6.12\text{/kg}$).

• May 20th (Wednesday) – Surge in Dover Sole & Low-Value Fillers: Landings dropped to $16,637.00\text{kg}$. Pot-caught octopus fell significantly to $5,477.80\text{kg}$. However, Dover Sole saw a massive spike in landing volume to $956.36\text{kg}$, generating $\pounds 21,979.49$ to become the second-highest financial contributor. Conversely, a large influx of Lesser Spotted Dogfish ($1,330.00\text{kg}$) sold for a negligible average price of just $\pounds 0.40\text{/kg}$, pulling the overall daily average price down to its lowest point of the week ($\pounds 5.77\text{/kg}$).

• May 21st (Thursday) – Quiet Mid-Week End: This was the quietest day of the series, showing only $19$ distinct species types and a low total volume of $7,272.28\text{kg}$. Pot-caught octopus once again made up the vast majority of the weight ($76.36\%$) and value ($69.74\%$). Hake was the main supporting species, adding $744.00\text{kg}$ valued at $\pounds 5,834.89$ ($\pounds 7.84\text{/kg}$).

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3. Weekly Summary

• Total Market Scale: Over the 4-day period, a grand total of $95,467.54\text{kg}$ of seafood was landed, generating $\pounds 570,593.72$ in total revenue.

• Price Stability: The overall weekly average price settled smoothly at $\pounds 5.98\text{/kg}$, with minimal daily fluctuations (ranging from $\pounds 5.77\text{/kg}$ to $\pounds 6.12\text{/kg}$).

• The Octopus Engine: The entire week's performance was anchored by a single fishery: Mediterranean Octopus (Pot Caught). It accounted for $65,258.76\text{kg}$ ($68.36\%$) of the total weekly weight and $\pounds 364,123.80$ ($63.81\%$) of total revenue.