Bart's Fish Tales with Sardines and Hake

Hot off the press is this new cook book from Dutch chef, Bart van Olphen.  Bart actively promotes cooking with sustainable seafood and has done so for many years. He was presented with the title of the world s most sustainable seafood entrepreneur in 2008, and travels the world looking for the stories behind the fish. Fishing communities all over the globe have inspired him to develop a range of fish products that tell their stories.  He is also about to start presenting on Jamie Oliver s Food Tube Network...

While researching for his latest book, Fish Tales, which saw him travel the world...

looking for sustainably caught fish to cook with, he happened upon Newlyn...

and as everyone knows...

and at this time of year when you need to keep up your Omega-3 input and what better way to do it than by making sure you get the freshest fish from Newlyn's fleet of Cornish sardine boats...

 seen her landing on Sunday...

  

it's nothing for 2-Kit to shift 3 tubs of sardines without breaking sweat...

and there are several sardine recipes to enjoy from the Newlyn chapter of the book...

as well as images of those who help put fish on the people's plates like auctioneer...

 and part-time fisherman, Ryan 'Wiffer' Ladd...

enjoying a little joshing on the quay...

while a familiar face from the past lends a hand...

for the punt men like father of the fleet, Dennis Pascoe aboard the Sprigs of Heather heading in to landing their fish ahead of the gill netter Ajax...

which sees young Aaron Williams happy in his work down the fishroom helping...

to pout ashore their last trip of hake for the year...

sans barb MSC Certified hake netter skipper Alan Dwan also stars in the Nelwyn section of Bart's book having provided the fish for some superb hake recipes... 

while Alan is just about to get his complimentary Fish Shop insulated fish frail...

crew member Matt is looking forward to the Christmas break after working through 8s, 9s and 10s this week...

as will all the guys aboard the port's top trawler, Crystal Sea.

How Jupiter and Venus met on Monday morning in Newlyn.

Ocean Pride all set to land...

on a somewhat chilly morning here in Newlyn...

as the buyers head back inside from bidding on the cuttles...

a rare sight these days, pollack from the Silver Dawn who more often than not lands her fish into France...

while regulars like the Lisa land the usual combination of Dovers, monks and megrim soles...

and the odd bass...

not able to compete with the likes of Cod on the Butts who must have put inconsiderable effort to fish over the weekend giving the strength of the wind and the general sea conditions and demonstrating that just because you now how have a pair of titanium lower limbs it doesn't stop him from putting to sea to earn a living...

buyers busy bidding...

and its bass form the Butts again...

along with a few JDs from the nettter Charisma...

and a few big cod...

the results of many years close working relationship now sees the netters able to land instead of dumping their dogfish, though still subject to a ton per boat per month...

catch of the day goes to the Ajax with this huge trip of hake...

the biggest of fish coming from the Padstow boat though...

this morning a rare event - the God of Sky and Thunder and the Goddess of Love,  Jupiter and Venus, get close this morning...

also on this morning's market, hake form the Britannia V...

happy in his work...

as Stevenson's auctioneers get bust selling the mnorning's fish...

outside the market the Elisabeth Veronique makes her way to the ice plant...

to take ice and water...

close up shot of the top working deck on the visiting Irish trawler, Fragrant Cloud...

as she waits for the tide to rise before she can sail again.

Newlyn Fish Festival is on Monday!

Don't forget - it's the biggest day of the year for the port of Newlyn on Monday - bring your friends and enjoy everything the fish festival has to offer!

For more information head over to the Fish Festival website.

Fishing from Newlyn video.

Falmouth University student Adam Pickup-Bowker has put together an insightful video on the fishing industry as he sees it in Newlyn.  Even more reassuring is the sight of a young skipper, James Roberts and his even younger crew, William - an inspiration if ever there was that fishing has a future - these guys believe it!

St Georges slays port record!

Stevenson's top beam trawler, St Georges smashed the port record this morning by over £8,000...

with a huge trip that included one ton of number 1 megrim soles at around £7.00 a kilo...

which of course means smiles all round and a celebratory drink for relief skipper and chief engineer Juicy standing in for skipper Billy Worth enjoying a quiet coca cola and some R&R in the warm environs of local hostelry, the Swordfish. Well done boys!

Drawn to the light - Monday morning in Mount's Bay.

Bumper start to the week for the fish market at Newlyn...

with the Scottish prawn boats like the Solstice helping to increase landings of John Dory...

though local John Dory specialist Roger took his biggest ever trip of lemon soles out of the water over the weekend...

haddocks figure in landings by all boats these days...

while these bass are sure to make a shilling or two...

head-on monks identify the boat that caught them as being from north of the border...

first landings of hake this week down to the Ajax...

and the Karen of Ladram...

with some of the 6+ kilo fish way too big for the box...

eyes down for the next sale...

5 links of chain make up the beam trawler's mat...

what a start to the week...

for any of the boats in Mount's Bay...

while some wait for their sailing orders like the Belgian beam trawler, Ruben...

and tug, Duke of Normandy...

the skipper and crew of the William Samson Stevenson must be polishing their wellies and ironing their oilskins in anticipation of the day she is set to sail, can't be far off now...

on her way to get ice, Millenia...

while it looks like the Crystal Sea has some more work to do on her trawl...

another Falmouth boat to visit the port, the Copious...

with her novel arrangement of her two net drums...

more and more yachts make the choice to stopover in Newlyn these days...

no prizes for guessing the nationality of this boat...

every fisherman gets to enjoy days like this as part of the job, compensating in some way for all the other days when you wish it was like this...

one of the country's finest contemporary artists, Ken Howard is out to capture the fabulous light this morning in a small study contré jour - and, as befitting the Royal Academy's Professor of Perspective, he employs the use of a steel rule to sketch in charcoal the basic structure of the scene in front of him. looking towards Penzance wet dock and the harbour gaps.