Milder Monday morning in Newlyn.

Despite the ultra-cool blue skies things have warmed up a little in Newlyn this morning and, although there was only the one big boat trip landed, there were plenty of inshore fish to keep the buyers' fingers busy on their keyboards bidding online when the auction started at 6am...

name the fish...

with the lack of wind and the water like gin, bass landings continue apace...

the Cornishman picked up a few red mullet to add the her trip...

and the crew took the trouble to take out the livers on the bigger fish too...

the fine weather over the weekend giving rise to three good shots from the inshore trawlers...

though young Roger's Dory count on the Martha Mae was on par for this time of year...

while Tom had good pickings of ray with the Guardian...

and this fine looking conger...

head-on monk of all sizes from skipper Jimmy...

to go with the rest of the prime flatfish that beam trawlers do best at catching...

still more inshore bass...

and some specimen red mullet...

along with plentiful supplies of seasonal sardines...

and mackerel...

these boxes tell a story, it seems the times they are a-changing...

as the sun fights its way through a clouded sky.

More pollack background.

 

Through the ongoing Pollack FISP, scientists from the universities of York and Plymouth are working with the industry to better understand the stock of this commercially important – but data-poor – species

Whether it is the sleek olive-green fresh run of fish of late spring, or the gnarled old warriors seen in the winter spawning season, pollack have been an integral part of my life for nearly 40 years, whether as a commercial fisherman, as an angler or now, as a fisheries scientist.

After 1969, the availability of the Mk 21 Decca Navigator allowed wrecks far out of sight of land to be revisited, and the hitherto untapped hordes of pollack that congregated around these structures became a viable target for the commercial fleet and angling boats. Such was the impact of the system on fishing that some of us ‘old ’uns’ still think in Decca LOPs. As for many others, this (somewhat unreliable) system opened the doors for some truly exceptional landings of pollack, ling and cod.

MMO records show that 26,113t of pollack were landed into UK ports between 2008 and 2019, worth over £57m to the commercial fleet. The largest landings of pollack have been concentrated around ports in the South West of the UK, with Newlyn consistently recording the highest, although in recent years, Peterhead has surpassed Newlyn, mostly due to declines in landings at the latter port.

For many of the under-10m rod and line commercial fleet in the South West, these fish are a mainstay of fishermen’s catches, especially those without a bass entitlement.

The pollack Fisheries Industry Science Partnership (FISP) project was born from concerns among industry about perceived reductions in numbers and size of pollack in the South West.

Although official statistics suggested a decline in landings of pollack, it was clear that the scientific data for the species, especially in VIIe and VIId, was limited, with even the basic biology and ecology of pollack poorly understood. The lack of such data has implications for stock assessments for the species, and landings figures don’t account for the vagaries of market forces or movements and, crucially, lack an effort component.

The FISP fund, run by Defra, provided the perfect mechanism to finance this work. The project is split into two interlinked parts.

1. Acoustic tagging of pollack to obtain information on movements and site fidelity, led by Dr Emma Sheehan’s group at the University of Plymouth.

2. Interpol, led by Dr Bryce Stewart and myself at the University of York. We gather basic biological data crucial to future stock assessments such as age, growth, size at maturity, sex, stomach content and information on the spawning status and health of the fish. We also derive catch per unit effort (CPUE) from catch data from 13 charter boats across VIIe, and then model these data to ensure that the final index is representative of the whole of VIIe.

Live weights (tonnes) of pollack landed into four South West ports from 2002 to 2019.

Both projects rely heavily on the experience of the skippers belonging to the Professional Boatman’s Association, and the team at the Angling Trust, led by Hannah Rudd.

To age fish, we extract the otoliths or ear bones from the edge of the pollack brain and then prepare them in the laboratory. Otoliths form annual rings, much like those in a tree trunk. By counting these growth rings, we can accurately find the age of the fish. Age at size is an important parameter in many stock assessments, as these basic growth parameters are integral to the method used. These data are currently lacking for pollack in VIIe.

So how have we done? So far, the skippers have recorded and measured over 9,000 pollack from 492 trips. I have collected otoliths from 104 fish, sexed 462 fish (we have found an almost 2:1 ratio of male to female fish), and examined the stomach contents of many of these fish.

Liveweight landings of pollack from three major ports in the UK, 2008 to 2019.

By the end of the project, we will have sampled fish from two full spawning seasons, and have recorded CPUE for almost three years. In addition, we are collecting logbooks and records of trophy fish caught by anglers to produce a historical time-series of pollack sizes to expand our knowledge of what, if any, changes have occurred to the stock.

It is too early in the project to provide conclusions, but by the end, both elements of our research should provide a clearer picture of the state of the pollack stock in VIIe.

Simon Thomas extracting an otolith (ear bone) from the head of a pollack. These are used to age the fish.

Owen Malia, skipper of Outlaw, based in Dartmouth, who has over 40 years of experience fishing for pollack both commercially and as a charter skipper, said: “Since my involvement in the leisure sector, I have witnessed a fairly rapid decline in not only our catch rates, but also the seasonal sizes of pollack being caught/recorded by my anglers over the last eight to 10 years.” He added: “It has been no hardship to provide valued data for the project.”

To try to better understand any changes in pollack stocks, we will also look at the effects of environmental changes, such as water temperature and the increased presence of predators such as tuna.

Crucially, we will present these data to the fishing community at public meetings. This will ensure that those whose livelihoods are affected by management decisions have the chance to give their perceptions of our data, and for their views to feed into our final report.

Our model of fisheries science relies on close interactions between ourselves and those who spend their lives at sea – the experts by experience on the fish they target. This model can be extended to any data-limited species that has recreational value, or extended to incorporate commercial skippers. As true partners, the skippers are rewarded for their time and expertise.

The recent ICES advice for a zero TAC for pollack was based on landings and groundfish trawl surveys. Our data and project did not feed into that assessment at all. However, we very much hope that our research will improve the evidence base for future pollack stock assessments. As both a scientist and someone who has been involved in both the recreational and the commercial fishing industry, I know how important it is for management decisions to be based on the best available science when livelihoods are involved.

By Dr Simon Thomas, University of York

Dr Simon Thomas is a marine scientist who is theme leader for the data collection part of the pollack FISP. He is employed by the University of York, but is based in Plymouth. He has a PhD in marine ecology from Queens University (Belfast), and is also involved with ongoing projects on data collection on shark captures from the UK, using data supplied by charter skippers and anglers. He has been involved in fishing for most of his life. For more information on the pollack FISP project, especially if you would like to share your views on the fishery, please contact Simon at: simon.f.thomas@york.ac.uk

Fine #FishyFriday in Newlyn.

The lights are on but no one is in - try the door later at Newlyn Gallery...

Tom, still keeping an eye on the harbour...

and the market with just the one beam trawl trip to finish off a better week of weather...

there are some fishlike this turbot, with distinctly alien features...

while scallops look as good as they taste...

just the one netter, plenty of hake from the Ocean Pride...

along with some cracking tub gurnard...

with a limited by-catch available, sightings of pollack are likely diminish as the end of each month approaches...

while lemons seem to be high up on the landings list this week...

name this alien-like fish...

these mackerel can't get to your plate fast enough...

just the one big bluefin landed overnight...

a shot of grey mullet topped off the inshore line landings...

while the sardine boat Pelagic Marksman put ashore enough fish to keep local restaurants happy...

un-seasonal spider claws...

as daylight approaches it can be seen that most of the netting fleet are tied up over the big spring tide.

 

Western English Channel data is now easier than ever to access

We are happy to share the news that the Western Channel Observatory has made accessing its century worth of physical, chemical and biological data from the Western English Channel even easier. 

The Western Channel Observatory (WCO) comprises a series of sampling sites within 40km of Plymouth (UK), which have been sampled by the Plymouth Institutes on a regular basis since 1903.

Find out more about the Western Channel Observation >>

This longevity of recording and the high frequency of observations provide a unique combination of data. Temperature data were first collected in 1903 and the reference station L4 has been sampled on a weekly basis since 1988, where nearly 400 planktonic taxa have been counted.

While the component datasets have been archived, the team have worked tirelessly to provide the first summary database bringing together a wide suite of the observations into one place for easier access by a wider range of users, such as for use within educational resources for undergraduates.



To improve overall utility, the various component datasets were brought together into a single format with the core datasets summarised as monthly averages and for broad functional groups. This level of detail (coarser than some of the measurements, which can be weekly and for individual species), was chosen as a first step to provide a summary database that combines many diverse data sources.

The newly published, open access data description paper can be accessed via the Earth System Science Data journal websites >>

Specialists who wish to access the underlying high-resolution observations, data for individual species, the most recent data available or require other data sets not summarised are directed to the Western Channel Observatory data catalogue. This catalogue provides sampling details, DOI’s of the most recent 140 versions and points of contact for specific data sets.

 

Related information

Western Channel Observatory dataset

Full paper: The Western Channel Observatory: a century of physical, chemical and biological data compiled from pelagic and benthic habitats in the western English Channel

Western Channel Observatory website

Western Channel Observatory overview article

Crystal clear and cloudless cool blue sky greeted the harbour this fine first Monday morning market in Newlyn for 2024...

pretty much stacked end-to-end with fish...

inlcuding good trips of hake from the Silver Dawn...

Stelissa...

and Ocean Pride...

along with plenty of dogs and smoothounds...

inshore boats spiced up the variety of fish with spider crab...

mackerel...

and bass...

while the three big netters came back with plenty of good haddock...

and these superb whiting...

inshore trawlers like the Guardian found good signs of ray...

but just a handful of that summer favourite, John Dory...

there's still no let up in landings of these tasty beasts either...

or line caught squid...

and inshore red mullet...

red tub gurnards were there to be had by the netters and a small by-catch of pollack...

judging by the ink-black market floor there must have been plenty of cuttlefish put ashore by the beam trawler, Cornishman

was it really that cold?..

promising signs for the cuttlefish season later in the year, crab pots laden with plenty of eggs!