Fine #FishyFriday in Newyn

 

Fine start to #FishyFriday in Newlyn, but a dark day for the South West fishing industry as Plymouth fish auction closes its fridge doors today...

spiders from Cornwall...

and plenty of turbot...

a few dogs...

and big plaice form the port's biggest boat, Enterprise...

just the none big netter to land at the end of the week, the Britannia V with a good shot of hake...

while much of the market floor was taken up with stacked boxes of...

head-on monk from the prawn boat, Vision V...

together with plenty of John Dory...

the usual mix of flats from the big boat...

and a decent sized 7kg-plus turbot from the Celtic Dawn...

inshore boats are keeping the weekend trade supplied with bog fat Mediterranean octopus and cuttles...

to go with line caught mackerel...

even bigger 'pus...

and bass...

and a hanger-on...

fine JDs from the Vision V unlucky enough to pick up a mass of Spanish gillnet and longline in her prop and towed in by her sistership...

not much going by way of breakfast for the harbour seal this morning...

a step too far finally being dealt with...

anyone care to pen an ode to electrolysis...

the nets worked by the visiting prawn boats require a huge effort just to get them off the boat and on to the quay for repair and maintenance...

despite the long hours at sea and ashore, it is all smiles...

from the Filipino crew...

one of the new Newlyn residents at rest...

window art of nondescript fish...

and last call for local artists to submit their work for this years showing at Newlyn's thriving community hub at The Centre.

It's a Bank Holiday weekend #FishyFriday!

It's that time of year when fishing goes slack and those below waterline jobs get done...

with boats brought up to dry out on the hard, skipper Roger keeping an eye on the Martha Mae to make sure she leans against the quay and not out so that she doesn't fall over as the tide drops...

they're on the move again...

two fine blues...

plenty of paws...

and even more butt - a big shot from the Ocean Pride...

summer shells...

usual landing of tails form the St Georges...

nice whiting...

while the prawn boats made p for a lack of net caught hake...

and Dory...

the inshore boats picking away at a few mackerel...

bass...

and cuttles...

young Georgie scraping those hard patches again...

plenty of spiders at the moment...

just a few boats in port this morning...

one with a big gear repair job to do...

days of sail, the Leader at rest...

template time...

the scourge of any trawler, old trans-Atlantic telegraph cable, the broken ends are often worn to a hyperdermic-like point...

showing the broken outer steel wire which encases a tarred cloth wound around the inner copper cable proper which is what transmits the signal...

it takes a while to fill the tanks...

punt paint-up time.

 

Fisheries data mapping - An update from the MMO

Marine Planning team Paul Gilliland, MMO Head of Marine Planning, 22 May 2024 - fisheries, marine planning During 2023, a number of fisheries workshops were conducted as part of work undertaken by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) and others to support thinking around marine spatial prioritisation. The objective of the workshops was to validate both the approach and the data used in fisheries mapping.

Fishing representatives identified several key areas where the approach and data could be strengthened. Work is now being undertaken to identify how these key points can be addressed and implemented, with an expectation to produce new outputs in the future.

Dale Rodmell, Chief Executive at the Eastern England Fish Producers Organisation, noted:

"It’s essential that fishing grounds are effectively safeguarded when considering other marine users in our increasingly crowded seas, so it was very much welcome that MMO consulted with the industry towards informing the most appropriate ways to represent, interpret and use spatial fisheries data.

We will continue to engage with the fishing industry to share progress and gather further feedback."

In the meantime, a project commissioned by MMO to examine “the sensitivity of the under-12 metre fishing fleet to offshore wind development in the East Marine Plan areas” is being finalised. The project engaged directly with fishers through face-to-face workshops across eight ports in the East region.

Representatives from the under-12 metre fishing fleet attended, helping to produce maps of their fishing grounds and highlight how they are being impacted by offshore wind developments. In line with standard practice, the final report will be published on the MMO Evidence projects register for use by any interested stakeholders. We hope this will include fishers, their representatives, and offshore wind farm developers.

For marine planners, the potential application of both analyses includes feeding into the process to replace the East Marine Plan, which formally began on 22 April 2024, and informing the location of future offshore wind sites in England, noting the challenge of meeting renewable energy targets in sea areas that are already busy.

Taking back control - UK fishing industry to benefit from cutting-edge technology to help manage fish stocks .

 

Use of cameras, gear sensors and GPS units will help improve the sustainability of UK fish stocks.

The sustainability of UK fish stocks will be better safeguarded through the use of technology to monitor and manage fishing activity in English waters, the government has announced,.

The technology – known as Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) – involves using camera, gear sensors and GPS units to make sure that catches are accurately recorded and fish are not unlawfully thrown back into the sea. The data captured will support the fishing industry to manage stocks sustainably and give retailers and consumers greater confidence about the sustainability of our fish.

Volunteers within five priority fisheries will begin to use REM systems from this summer, with their work helping to refine the UK’s monitoring objectives and ensure the technology works for fishers.

Once monitoring objectives have been finalised and the REM systems are demonstrated to be working well, REM systems will become mandatory for all vessels in those fisheries – including non-UK vessels.

The information delivered through REM will support the long-term profitability of the sector and help to build the UK’s food resilience and security.

Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer said:

• Leaving the EU has given us the opportunity to take a new approach to fisheries management that is in the best interests of the UK fishing industry. By harnessing this technology, we can sustainably manage our fish stocks, to benefit the industry, future generations, and our marine environment.  

• A different approach to managing discards will also be adopted in England, with changes to be made to better account for catches.

From 2025, landings and discards will both be counted against quota allocations, and the amount of quota used to cover discards will vary and will depend on the type of vessel and gear types used. In addition to this, discard reduction schemes will be established to identify ways to reduce unwanted catch in the first instance. Working collaboratively with regulators and the industry, the schemes will identify and resolve barriers to improved gears being used.
Fishers will start to see both approaches implemented at the start of next year.

Further information: 

Link to the remote electronic monitoring consultation response. 

Link to the discards reform consultation response.

So, you want to be a fisherman?

 
Seafood Cornwall Training have a free event for those interested for a career in commercial fishing. Please get in touch to book a morning or afternoon slot. Our tutors will be there to answer all questions regarding a career at sea.

Email SCT for more information or visit their website.