Business as usual.

A scarred lorry park ......

and some bunting aboard Mike Corin's Sapphire and the St Piran is all that's left to show of the dozens of stalls and 20,000 pairs of feet that trampeed the quayside over the bank Holiday Monday........

one end of the market was pretty much full of fish.....

while the other was down to a few boxes of quality.......

including these crayfish, not often seen these days.....

somehow Edwin managed to save a balloon from the previous day's festivities.....

a real opportunity for any youngster wanting to jojn the industry, the Sea Spray specialises in line caught fish,especially pollack for which she has become renowned.

Seafood Cornwall Training recieve award from Rick Stein at the Fish Festival.

Rick Stein honours Seafood Cornwall Training

Rick Stein has honoured the staff and directors of Seafood Cornwall Training for their service to the fishing industry by presenting them with a liferaft donated by Viking during the Newlyn Fish Festival. Simon Cadman, Director; Sarah Crosbie, Manager and Emma Thomas, Course Administrator, were delighted to receive the liferaft from Rick Stein.


Since the not-for-profit, Seafood Cornwall Training Ltd opened its doors in February last year; the company has trained 415 fish industry employees and issued 974 certificates for courses. Based in Newlyn, the Seafish Approved Training provider has assisted the Cornish fish industry across Cornwall, through the provision of fishermen’s basic safety training, 16.5m skipper’s ticket courses as well as short courses to add value, improve food safety and skills throughout the industry.



Rick Stein commented, “I’m really pleased to be supporting Seafood Cornwall Training. It’s important to recognise the work that Simon, Sarah and Emma have put in to help provide local fishermen with the dedicated skills training they need to improve safety and efficiency at sea, which in turn has helped develop the Cornish fishing industry as a whole.”



Director Simon Cadman, Senior Fisheries Officer for the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee explained, “I have been involved in the development of training since the formation of the Objective 1 Fisheries Task Force, ten years ago, which identified training as a key part of their strategy to develop the fishing industry. Fishing is a highly skilled and sometimes dangerous profession and therefore it is vital that all fishermen have access to local, specialist skills training to improve safety and efficiency at sea.” “With the support of the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee I have been pleased to assist with the business of Seafood Cornwall Training. We have an important and worthwhile fishing industry in Cornwall, and we must ensure skills are continually developed to assist the sector to continue on successfully and safely.”

Sarah Crosbie, Manager at Seafood Cornwall Training, commented, “We have been working hard to ensure Seafood Cornwall Training is a success and it is great to be honoured by Rick Stein for our work. Since the launch of the dedicated training and resource centre last year, we have helped over 400 fishermen and businesses access funding and gain certificates in courses they would otherwise have had to travel out of the county to achieve. The two liferafts kindly donated by Viking for sea survival training will ensure Cornish fishermen have practical experience of the very latest lifesaving equipment available.”


Barrie Durant, General Manager of VIKING Life-Saving Equipment Ltd, Southampton, who unfortunately couldn’t be at the festival, commented, “On behalf of "Viking Life-Saving Equipment Ltd" I have donated two new training liferafts to Seafood Cornwall Training. These liferafts are manufactured to the latest international standards and will be used in sea survival courses to train fisherman. We acknowledge the work that Seafood Cornwall Training is doing and we are pleased to support them as we also endeavour to save lives at sea every day, in this our company’s 50th anniversary”.



However, the story doesn’t end there, with the dedicated support of the staff and directors, Seafood Cornwall Training has amongst other things, hosted Net to Plate events for school children and students and raised awareness of the fishing industry through educational outreach work. In the last year, the company has secured grant funding for training and equipment through working in partnership with Seafish, South West Food and Drink, Cornwall Council, the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation, Penwith Community Development Trust and Cornwall Works.  Although fellow director, Newlyn Fishermen, David Stevens, couldn’t be at the presentation as he was away fishing, he commented, “It’s excellent that the hard work of Seafood Cornwall Training has been honoured by Rick Stein. It’s really important that the fishing industry has a strong skills base and Seafood Cornwall Training has been able to develop courses tailored to meet the industry’s needs. When I was asked to get involved I was really happy to support anything that helped young entrants join the fishing industry and helped the sector develop.”


Paul Trebilcock, Chief Executive of the Cornish Fish Producers Organisation and a director of Seafood Cornwall Training, explained, “There has always been a clear need for local provision of training for my members and all Cornish fishermen. It’s essential that fishermen have access to training and advice and that it’s available when they want it. An increase in skills across the sector helps the industry as a whole.”


To find out more about Seafood Cornwall Training visit http://www.seafoodcornwalltraining.co.uk/

Rick Stein all set to open newlyn Fish Festival.

 The stage is all set......

 for Rick Stein, complete with dozens of books to sign to open this year's fish festival.....

as 20,000 visitors are expected to make their way to newlyn to see lots of beef?!!**!! - what the folks have really come to see is......

 chefs like Keir Miekle from the Navy Inn, Penzance......

 Sue & Duncan Lucas from Passionate about Fish......

 and the stars of the show, plenty of the fish that makes Newlyn famous......

 and not forgetting the shellfish......

all these are now being promoted by local Farmer's markets......

 behind the scenes and keeping things under control, Mr MCA, Mike Collier organises the IRB lifeboat team for their emergency demonstration in the harbour.....

 over on the pontoons, and the real star of the show, Pete Goss, brother Andy and son Elliot are back 'home' from their incredible Australian odyssey with the Spirit of Mystery looking like she's never been away.....

here, Pete's brother Andy points to a few planks of Australian timber now fitted to the stern of the boat's dinghy which has its own adventure story after having spent seven months adrift before washing ashore on King Island after being torn from the deck when the Spirit capsized off the Australain coast on the final leg, !

Trawler Wars! - Newlyn Vs Brixham - coming to the TV in September.

Newlyn beamer skippers! - some familiar faces from the home team.

First we had the Trawlermen, then the Deadliest Catch and now we have something nearer home - Trawler Wars! The Discovery Channel will begin airing a six part series which pitches the top skippers from the top two English ports to see who lands the biggest catches and makes the most money - with Brixham's more modern fleet and brand new computer auction the outcome is possibly not hard to predict!

The series starts on September 26th at 9pm on Discovery and Discovery HD.

Countdown to Newlyn Fish festival - the big clean-up continues.....

 The blond drinks' dispenser extraordinaire gets the big send off while her man's across the water doing his ticket.....

 an almost clear quay set for the big day......

 all in aid of the Mission - their new poster stars local characters including, centre stage the one and only Nutty Noah........

 and Still Waters it is this morning......

 sober view.......

 with the biggest wind up motor going.......

 a big space to clear......

 ready for the show.....

 with a final wash down......

 while down the quay it is business as usual.....

 Debbie issues a warning.......

and Royden uses charm.

Falmouth, Flushing and the Newlyn to Penzance One Mile swim.

Down with the derricks so that Bruv can supervise the greasing of the nipples on the running gear......

all change aboard the Emma Louise, the new Cummins hands suspended from a chain hoist above the engine bed......

out with the old.....

FalFish are kept busy with a good shot of Cornish Sardine from the ring net boats.....

all set for the Fish Festival this weekend when over 20,000 visitors are expected to attend......

about to let the Admiral go.....

over Falmouth way, a sea of masts at Mylor Yacht Harbour....

while over in Flushing they are looking after a few stray boxes.....

and alongside Flushing Quay, shining in the evening sun, the biggest Falmouth fishing vessel, Golden Fleece.......

back across Carrick Roads, is the home of the MCA's Falmouth Coastguard headquarter sitting just below the fortress that is Pendennis Castle.....

and the camouflaged and heavily reinforced gun emplacement that overlooks Falmouth Bay.......

Pendennis Shipyard alongside an empty dry dock.....

back in Newlyn, a record breaking 400+ swimmers make their way across the seafront in a heavy swell to compete in this year's Yacht Inn, Newlyn to Penzance One Mile swim for the McMillan Charity, an event in which in which Tony Stevenson of the fishing family who died earlier this year, swam in many times...... 

first home looking pretty cool, calm and collected.

Biggest boats, biggest catches - biggest fines!

Top Shetland mid water boat skippers have admitted to illegally landing a total of £15 million pounds worth of herring and mackerel between 2002 and 2005. Years ago, before the the world turned green, this sort of action might have seemed less of a crime against humanity and more a case of what people who hunt for a living do - in a dangerous occupation you take your chances.

Missed this back in June - apologies to young Gary!

 Penzance resident named South West Young Apprentice of the Year.

Gary Nicholls of Mounts Bay Engineering is celebrating today after winning the Young Apprentice of the Year Award at the South West Skills Awards, which took place on the 2nd June). The prestigious ceremony, which took place at Sandy Park conference centre in Exeter, was presented by BBC’s former chief news correspondent, Kate Adie, OBE. Kate, who is the current presenter of Radio 4’s From Our Own Correspondent, delivered a keynote speech about her own experience learning essential skills on the job. This journalistic theme was reinforced by compere Clinton Rogers, the BBC’s Chief Somerset Correspondent.

The South West Skills Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of apprentices, learners and employers who have excelled in the region. Run by the Skills Funding Agency and the National Apprenticeship Service, the evening combined the Skills Awards with the South West regional heat of the National Apprenticeship Awards.

Gary Nicholls of Mounts Bay Engineering will go on to the national Apprenticeship Awards ceremony at Westminster Plaza in Central London on 15 July 2010 where he will be amongst the best from England. Dr John Chudley, Regional Director for the South West National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) agreed: “These awards recognize individuals at every stage of life and career, and the  contributions of employers, both large and small, spanning all sectors.

Responsible fishing.

 Not many boats put to sea last night......

 but the Pride of Cornwall did and was rewarded with a shot of Cornish Sardines taken responsibly of course......

 visitors to the market, especially kids, are always fascinated by the selection of fish up for auction.....

 with the forecast promising heavy rain, the open top bus won't have many takers clambering for a seat on top at the front like they normally do........

 some of the punt men might just try their hand at the weekend!