Ophelia is on her way!

Unusually for a trans-Atlantic low hurricane Ophelia, far from the static and one dimensional character she is often described as, has tracked much further south than normal...

and is already heading almost due north after halting her easterly trajectory a few hundred miles west of Portugal...

from where WindyTV predicts she will head north...

and hit the southern Irish coast in the early hours of Monday morning...

from then on her destructive power diminishes - according to the predicted path. 

"A fish-frail of stout" on Seafood Week's final #FishyFriday

"You can hear the dew falling, and the hushed town breathing. Only your eyes are unclosed to see the black and folded town fast, and slow, asleep. And you alone can hear the invisible starfall..."

the words, written originally for the radio rather than the stage, capture the very blackness of a harbour town in the dead of night when the sky is...

"the darkest-beforedawn minutely dewgrazed stir of the black, dab-filled sea where the Arethusa, the Curlew and the Skylark, Zanzibar, Rhiannon, the Rover, the Cormorant, and the Star of Wales tilt and ride."

inside the fish market the buyers bid on black cuttle-filled containers...

young Mr Smart looks aghast as Mr Bick whispers sweet nothings in Buttons' ear...

big turbot, big mouth...

first of the netters to get fish ashore for buyers starved of hake for the week...

was the Karen of Ladram...

with the ability of cuttlefish ink to permanently stain, many of the boats now take black boxes to sea especially for them...

the traditional way to 'wing' ray...

Harvest Reaper in the haddock again - which just happens to be the nominated fish for Day 8 of this year's Seafood Week...

and the odd tub gurnard...

time to get things moving...

a brace of congers...

and a box of the very best red mullet...

all go down in the buyers' little black books...

there are still plenty of plaice coming on to the market...

moving swiftly on...

name that flatfish...

those eyes don't miss much on the seabed...

it's a wrasse, but which one?..

how many buyers does it take to stack a pallet?..

aye-aye...

delicious Dory...

another bashful buyer...

pouts are plentiful this week...

as will hake be on Monday's market...

until then Roger keeps the market clear of boxes...

as there is only half the space available...

as the nights grow ever longer...

"Fishermen grumble to their nets. Nogood Boyo goes out in
the dinghy _Zanzibar_, ships the oars, drifts slowly in the
dab-filled bay, and, lying on his back in the unbaled water,
among crabs' legs and tangled lines, looks up at the
spring sky"

With thanks to Dylan Thomas, for the words from Under Milk Wood, who married his wife-to-be Caitlin in Penzance registry office before honeymooning in the Lobster Pot Hotel and drinking in the Ship Inn..

Cefas Endeavour survey voyage.

Normally the JNCC blog posts regular updates on the survey work being undertaken by the Ceas Endeavour - but it seems that the current voyage is not one of their making...  

the boat is currently on another southerly transit - a feature of the survey -  from just east of Lands End...

this is the only clue found on Twitter from Peltic Surveys which shows she is surveying the autumnal algal bloom in the Bristol Channel and Western Approaches. They have been posting pics and videos during the survey.

Most of the voyage - which started when she left Swansea on the 28th September has seen her steaming at around 9-10 knots.

There's a great story about the first blue fin tuna tag to be recovered in the UK - from the Scillys - read all about it here.

Live! Starting today - Two day conference on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund

Today, the Estonian Presidency of the EU and the European Commission are jointly hosting a two day conference on the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). Stakeholders from all across the EU will convene to discuss how the EMFF is helping to support the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy and Maritime Policy in the current programming period (2014-2020). 

The event will also represent the opportunity to discuss the current and future challenges of coastal communities, as well as potential policy responses.

Thursday 12 October 2017

 08.30 - 9.15   Registration

 09.30 - 10.30  Opening Plenary

    10.30 - 11.00   Coffee break and posters exhibit

 11.00 - 13.00   Plenary session: "The EMFF in support of the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy and EU Maritime Policy"

    13.00 - 14.00  Lunch

 14.30 - 16.00  Parallel Workshops

• Workshop 1:  "Supporting more environmentally sustainable, resource efficient and competitive fisheries"
• Workshop 2:  "Enabling the development of sustainable and competitive aquaculture"
• Workshop 3:  "Marine innovation and skills"
• Workshop 4:  "To focus or not to focus?"

    16.00 - 16.30  Coffee break and posters exhibit

 16.30 - 18.00  Parallel Workshops 

• Workshop 5: "The EMFF and local perspectives"
• Workshop 6: "Strengthening data collection and fisheries control through the EMFF"
• Workshop 7: "Sea Basin Strategies, from words and processes to projects and results"
• Workshop 8: "When are subsidies harmful?"

    19.00 - 21.00  Evening Reception and Dinner

Friday 13 October 2017

 09.00 - 10.30  Parallel Workshops

• Workshop 9: "Small-scale coastal fisheries and fisheries in the outermost regions"
• Workshop 10 "Financial instruments"
• Workshop 11 "The EMFF in support of seafood marketing and processing"
• Workshop 12: "Results-orientation in the EMFF 2014-2020: Programme management, Project Selection, Monitoring, Reporting and Evaluation

    10.30 - 11.00  Coffee and poster exhibit

 11.00 - 12.15  Plenary session: "Beyond 2020: Where next?"

 12.15 - 12.30  Closing session

    13.00 - 14.00  Buffet Lunch

 14.00 - 16.30  ROUNDTABLE ON SUPPORTING THE PARTICIPATION OF SMALL-SCALE COASTAL FISHERMEN IN THE ADVISORY AND DECISION MAKING PROCESSES OF THE COMMON FISHERIES POLICY

Wednesday evening in Newlyn.

The market canopy is in the process...

of being removed... 

along with the corrugated roof sections...

from the roof itself...

sailing time for the Asthore...

the Manin is back in berth...

green and black gold coming ashore from the beamer...

several thousand tons, including all kinds of chain, scallop dredges and anything else you can think of have all been lifted today...

steaming for home...

under a heavy evening sky.

Brexit - things are not looking so good for our UK fishing industry.

During #PMQs today the Prime Minister re-affirmed the government's intention to remain in the CFP during any transition period...

which then prompted the question as to what or when exactly is the 'transition period'

with some fearful that this may be the answer!

Fishing news have just posted a more in-depth piece on the matter which includes a robust response from the Fishing for Leave camp:

FFL: ‘Fishing must not be included’

FFL said Theresa May’s proposals amounted to seeing the status quo re-badged for an unspecified ‘transitional’ period. “It leaves Britain wide open to being in the same position in two years as now, trapped in purgatory.”

It said that Mr Barnier had made it ‘crystal clear’ that during any transitional period, the UK would still be in the EU in all but name, and would have to have to abide by the acquis (all EU law).

“By appealing for a transitional agreement that is only in the EU’s power to gift, the government has blown itself wide open, instead of being able to walk away under the premise of ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’, said FFL.

“The EU can now demand blind obedience to anything it wants – including a continuation of the CFP and continued access to Britain’s rich fishing grounds.

“Usually, in a negotiation, you only concede for something in return… we have conceded everything to get more of the same! This speech marks the start of Britain’s fishing and coastal communities being sacrificed again.

“No one voted for a transition period. This is just a way to kick the can down the road till the next election.”

FFL claimed the transition proposal showed that the ‘establishment’ wants to negate Brexit at all costs.

“In having to agree to a continuation of all EU law in order to get a transition, areas like fishing will be thrown to the wolves. This will suit those running the federations who never wanted or campaigned for Brexit and are only advocating keeping the status quo.”

FFL claims UK waters will be partitioned into an exclusive 12-mile zone for an under-10m ‘cottage industry/marine park’, to buy off the smaller vessels, appease the green NGOs and spin ‘Brexit means Brexit’. But outside 12 miles it will be ‘business as usual’ under a never-ending transition deal.

“The EU will keep its shares, and quotas will be kept, with a discard ban enforced. Choke species will force out the majority, and family businesses, and continue consolidation into the few hands running the federations.

“It is now vital that the government disproves the above assertion by categorically stating that fishing will not be part of this transitional arrangement,” said FFL.

FFL called on all fishermen to see the reality of what is happening and join its campaign for a clean break with the CFP.

“Fishing for Leave welcomes them to support our campaign for the implementation of replacement policy for all fishermen to prosper, to ensure an unequivocal clean break.

“The assertion that ‘only worry about getting our waters back and worry about policy later’ is playing right into the government’s hands of keeping the status quo, and will see this wonderful opportunity annihilated along with what’s left of the industry.

“We seriously hope that in time we will not be proved correct, as our predecessor FAL was in the 1990s.”

Full story from the Fishing News here: