For most of December and into the New Year the Newlyn sardine fleet sailed, weather permitting, only to find no sardine fish marks in Mounts Bay. The fish to all intents and purposes had disappeared. The fleet sought fish all the way along the south coast, from Falmouth to Mevagissey and as far as Plymouth – with some success but ultimately, landings were well down as compared to previous months.
The spawning season for the fish is largely over and at this time of year the high fat content – crucial for canning – begins to drop so changes in behaviour are inevitable. The Christmas break also meant that the two local processors that take most of the fish landed were also running at limited capacity.
However, the start of the New Year has seen the return of shoals in fishable waters in Mounts Bay and the fleet have been working at near full capacity to take advantage of the un-seasonally fine weather.
Sustainability
It should be noted that, last year, the entire Cornish sardine catch was less than 10,000 tons from an estimated stock of 450,000 tons representing a harvest rate of just over 2% - many pelagic fisheries around the world harvest up to 30% of the total stock per year. The fleet takes weekly samples from their catches to help the scientists at Cefas with their data collection - an event almost unique in UK fisheries management. See the Cornish Sardine Management Association website for more information.
Several boats in the fleet are now using shore pumps to deliver their catches ashore.
