At rest.

 

'A' is for Algrie, end of an fishing era.

Beam trawler Algrie PZ199

A piece of fishing history left through the gaps this week on her way to be scrapped in Ghent, Belgium - the Algrie was the very first trawler purchased by the Stevenson family fishing firm to enter the harbour in 1976 and start was to become the the largest privately owned beam trawl fishing fleet in Europe.....

but for her early years she was rigged for both beam trawling and midwater trawling for the winter mackerel season- seen here in Penzance Dock under the 'digger' landing mackerel for fish meal...

under the watchful eye of Tony Stevenson, brother to owner Billy..

by the 1980s the Algrie,  along with the Aaltje Adriante and the Anneliese were all beaming full time...

In 1982, the 70ft Algrie found her beam trawls attached to the nuclear attack sub HMS Spartan in the waters off Land’s End in 1982 and towed her for quite some time before the sub surfaced. Legend has it that, at first, the Navy via the coastguard, denied there was a submarine in the area! The Algrie was then ordered to cut free her gear before the sub moved on. It was understood to have cost £8,000....

in the late 1990s, the Algrie's stern was covered in to provide better safety and living conditions for the crew. The boat was a consistently high earner for the family firm under a number of skippers including David Stevens and David Hooper 

The Algrie and William Samspon Stevenson heading out through the gaps for the last time, ironically, David Hooper skippered both boats for much of his time with the Stevenson's...

the previous week saw the first of the James RH and the Lisa Jacqueline towed away to be scrapped - video courtesy of Stevenson's superintendent, Abbie Smith...

48 hours later, the two boats are heading up river to the breakers.

Final #FishyFriday in May

Another glorious start to the day and end of the week in Newlyn with a hint of gold spreading below the fish market at low water...

auction visitors took advantage of a wide range of fish to capture on film...

indluding this cracking eight-legger from one of the inshore crabbers...

and some big bull buss...

fish landings were mainly from a single beam trawler and the inshore boats keen to make the market before the long Bank Holiday weekend...

shades or reds and greys...

it's always good to get the opportunity to show off the thriving port to those who work closely with the likes of Defra and Cefas so that they get to better understand the complexities of fishing and what it means for those who make a living from the sea...

which often means a week at sea followed by days of hard grind putting back together and repairing gear so that they fish in the most productive way in order to provide a living for both the crews and the owners...

one man who knows more than most about hard grind at sea is a certain Mr Pascoe...

seen here waving us off after getting out to sea for the first time in a couple of years to land a few kilos of cuttles - though he could have done without the flop he said! Good to see you Dennis!

 

Fish of the week 26 - monk

 

Monk, or angler fish as it is sometimes referred to - because of the means by which it lures it's prey in front of its...

huge teeth and throat-lined mouth mouth...

are landed whole by visiting Scottish and Spanish boats...

but local boats have always practised the tailing of the fish at sea - the head making up nearly two-thirds of a whole fish...

the very smallest grade often referred to as 'scampi tails' - a hangover from the days when many unscrupulous restaurants near and far used to prepare small slices of monk dressed in breadcrumbs and deep-fried and pass them off as scampi - oh how times have changed!

Inhabiting the sandy bottom of the seas around the south west, the fish are caught in greatest quantity by the beam trawlers and netters using tangle nets, Their total landings represent the fourth by value in Newlyn. 

The Cornwall good seafood guide tells the story in more detail.

Monk is a very versatile fish and can be used in a wide range of dishes, not the cheapest fish but it is totally bone free and therefore a great fish to serve up to any for whom fish bones are a no-no! Here is a recipe for spiced monkfish from Galton Simpson's cook book, Hook, Line and Sinker but you'll find a huge variety of recipes for the fish in any of your favourite fish chefs' cook book!

The Granite Kingdom ready to be read now!

Son of Newlyn fisherman and adopted Scot Des Hannigan, Tim Hannigan will be in the Edge of the World bookshop tonight giving a talk on his just published book, The Granite Kingdom. A fascinating, lyrical account of an east-west walk across Britain's westernmost and most mysterious region. A distant and exotic Celtic land, domain of tin-miners, pirates, smugglers and evocatively named saints, somehow separate from the rest of our island. 

Few regions of Britain are as holidayed in, as well-loved or as mythologized as Cornwall. From the woodlands of the Tamar Valley to the remote peninsula of Penwith - via the wilderness of Bodmin Moor and coastal villages where tourism and fishing find an uneasy coexistence - Tim Hannigan undertakes a zigzagging journey on foot across Britain's westernmost region to discover how the real Cornwall, its landscapes, histories, communities and sense of identity, intersect with the many projections and tropes that writers, artists and others have placed upon it. Combining landscape and nature writing with deep cultural inquiry, The Granite Kingdom is a probing but highly accessible tour of one of Britain's most popular regions, juxtaposing history, myth, folklore and literary representation with the geographical and social reality of contemporary Cornwall. 

This video, shot in the 80s as a promotion for the West Penwith 'Experience' and narrated by local Cornishman newspaper editor Douglas Williams evokes just a small pat of what makes Cornwall home.

Survey ship, Jorgen Amundsen on the slip.

 

Scottish prawn trawler Orion is the latest to make a landing in Newlyn...

while the skipper of the Jorgen Amundsen plans to locate the wreck of cargo vessel MV Mark that sank on the same night as the Penlee Lifeboat Disaster.  The MV Mark got into difficulty off Penzance, Cornwall, on the night of 19 December 1981, resulting in six crew losing their lives. The vessel has never been found and identified, although debris was found. Fredrik Lunde says he hopes to find the ship and get more information for the families of its crew. The bulk carrier, loaded with China clay, suffered engine failure and lost contact with the coastguard. Fredrik Lunde became interested in the MV Mark after locals in Penzance told him about it - debris including a lifebelt was washed up, with the belt now hanging on the wall in a local pub, The Dock in Penzance. The sinking happened on the same night the Penlee lifeboat was dispatched to help the Union Star. Newspaper reports at the time pointed out that 22 lives were lost that night - 16 from the Solomon Browne lifeboat and the coaster it had attempted to reach. Fredrik, who has been in Cornwall since April plans to take out his converted Norwegian rescue ship, which he has been turning into a survey vessel, to examine a possible wreck site some 165ft (50m) deep, about seven nautical miles off Penzance...

meanwhile, the Algrie, the first ex-Dutch beam trawler ever brought to Newlyn is one of the remaining three boats now waiting the return of the tug to tow them to Belgium and the scrapyard - end of an era indeed...

three men and their ladder...

a brighter sign of the changing fortunes and times, the harbour now has its very own electric forklift...

looks like there is still plenty of mending to do before the gear goes back aboard the Spirited Lady III...

and even more work for the guys aboard the Enterprise...

at this time of year the pontoon berths are filled with passing yachts, build it and they will come...

today's mackerel boats have yet to land their morning's catch, now where did the landing book go?...

there was a mix of fish on the market tis morning with quality fish like these hake and red mullet...

and John Dory from the Orion...

landings of mackerel picked up a little last night for the punt men...

you wouldn't want these to be wrapped around you when swimming in the Bay...

staple catch for the beam trawl fleet...

while these make an additional bonus to the landings...

if you know where to go there are still shots of bass to be had...

beam trawlers like the Trevessa IV make the biggest landings of megrim sole...

fish like these red mullet add variety to the trips...

looks like today could be fine.

Monday morning finds the Scottish prawn fleet in Newlyn.

Finally the weather seems to have settled...

which will mean the tug will be back for these two in a few days time...

following the departure of these old stalwarts of Stevenson's fleet...

headed for a scrapyard in Belgium...

with no beam trawlers landed over the weekend it was down to the visiting Scottish prawn boats to fill the market with whole monk...

of all sizes...

the 'bait' that the monk dangles in front of its cavernous jaw can clearly be seen here...

there were good trips from the local inshore trawlers too...

with quality fish like these John Dory...

Couch's bream...

and superb red mullet...

turbot a-plenty...

that often seem to travel in pairs, the up side and downside to veery turbot is clear to be seen...

both types of squid on offer from the Spirited Lady...

while Dovers...

megrim...

and lemon sole from the prawners...

inshore boats continue to pick away on the eight leggers...

the use of seaweed is he traditional way of keeping shellfish like lobsters alive when not able to be kept in seawater...

a fine BBQ treat in the offing...

tow of the prawn fleet...

while the Cornishman undergoes another major overhaul...

Ocean Vision back in Newlyn...

with plenty of trawl work to keep skipper Zander busy...

headed for the slip...

nothing beats the morning light says Breton artist Christophe, currently visiting Newlyn...

along with friends on their yacht...

nearly made it to the cradle...

atypical trawl wear and tear, the combination fishing line has parted at the splice, always a fun job replacing that!...

the latest entries in the slipway record book...

which go back to day one, these from back in the 80s...

'PD', the Slipmeister and his kingdom...

she'll have to wait for high-water this evening before being slipped...

as the cradle needed to be made narrower to accommodate her beam...

a day sailer...

as another visiting prawner arrives...

the Ocean Crest heads in through the gaps.