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Wednesday, 15 March 2017

Top quality inshore fish aplenty this morning


Boats are sold by the order in which they land...



typical of the fish landed by a beam trawler are megrim soles, by value, the highest single species landed in Newlyn annually...



and always a fish where the big buyers...



like Smart's are keen to get the best, unless Ocean Fish beat them to it...



these big ling are just the fish to make superb fish cakes...



it will soon be the scallop season again, but the beam trawlers always pick up a few over the course of a trip...



unlike bass where they just get lucky if they have any...



even though beam trawlers tow for 3-4 hours, sometimes less, the haddock on the left was caught early on in a tow while the one on the right at the end - hence the brighter appearance owing to the presence of scales which haven't been washed off by the action of all the fish congregating in the cod end...



the Milennium had a big brill...



and even a few big pollack...



while Plugger on the Shiralee landed a superb haul of flats including these Dover, lemon sole and plaice...



along with some cracking small-eyed ray...



name the fish from the Algrie...



a mix of dazzling blues and reds...



this cuckoo ray is doing its best to look like an African elephant...





if you are not sure which ray, shark or skate you are looking at then this excllent booklet produced by the Co-op will help...



this big conger had been around the wrecks and rocks for a few years...



well past the time of year when the boats would have made good landings of squid which have been in short supply this winter...



all lined up ready for the auction, a bunch of bibs...



while there may not have been many squid landed, cuttlefish, another member of the cephalapod family have been in good supply of late - ask your local fishmonger to get some so that you can try Nathan Outlaw's excellent cuttlefish salad - well worth trying if you are a fan of calamari...



net fish, what net fish? - last nights big moon was a reminder that it is big spring tides, hence the lack of net fish on the market this morning...



two local events not to be missed if you want to be involved in the future of inshore fishing...



especially this one looking at publicising changes to inshore netting rules and regulations...



in this part if the world, once the home of chart datum for the entire world, high water at this time of day means it is spring tides...



the lights are on as the latest crabber, Harriet Eve nears completion - shouldn't be too long before our local sign-writer extraordinaire, Squirrel gets to work on her letters and numbers...



at this teime of year the Belgian and Dutch beam trawl fleet make their way to 'up channel' (which, when referred to in this part of the world, means the Bristol Channel)...



low could rolls off the land into the bay...



as one of the first sail boats (a classic Colin Archer hull?) for the season lays at anchor with a mist-shrouded St Michael's Mount in the background...



another anchor form the days of sail landed by a beam trawler - free to a good home...



the Algrie, one of Stevenson's original ex-Dutch beam trawlers and founder of the beam trawl fleet in Nelwyn along with the Aatlje Adriaante and the Anneleise...



even today, sea coal from wrecks is still being trawled up - some comes from the bunkers of steam ships, other from ships carrying coal as cargo, either way it burns just as well as the day it was put aboard the boat......



new boat, new post, new gear for the Harriet Eve awaits her maiden trip...



the new hydraulic crane for the other new build in the port out is about to be fitted on the Pelagic Marksman...



traditionally, Dutch and Belgian beam trawlers suspend their cod ends and stocking high over the deck when in port...



not such good news for the netter, Ajax, looks like a new shaft is on the way...



a single gull flies over the handline fleet busy fishing for mackerel...



as the huge research vessel Tridens lays at anchor off the Low Lee buoy - she is on passage to the west coast of Ireland and Scotland to carry out a huge Blue Whiting survey from March to April.  Hopefully, the ship will post every day on progress on the ship's research blog.