Through the Gaps! - Newlyn Fishing News Cornwall UK fish commercial fishing fish cooking and art

Friday 18 November 2016

Huge fishing boat heads towards Newlyn!

Interest always follows the 'tallest' or 'heaviest' or 'smartest' of anything - and that is certainly true when it come to the second largest fishing vessel in the world, the Margiris - which right at this moment is heading for Newlyn.

According to the MMO the Margiris, states that, "All EU member state vessels have equal access to EU waters, but must observe access limits and hold the relevant quota."

In recent times the vessel has fished as far away as Australia in an attempt to meet her running costs.

'Tiz a fresh silver dawn this #FishyFriday and it feels freezing in Newlyn!

Huge spring tide, strong wind kept all the inshore boats in the harbour yesterday so there were just three much bigger beam trawlers on the market this morning...

and with a chill wind blowing through the market the buyers were wrapped up well against the cold...

but it didn't stop them bidding on top quality fish from the beamer, St Georges...

like these Dover soles...

and even a few congers...

along with a good run of green...

or cod as they are rightly known...

although caught in larger quantities in the summer months there are always a few John Dory willing to give them selves up for a fine dining table at this time of year...

along with their flat cousins...

and the mainstay of the beamer fleet during the winter, monk tails...

its always good to see a box of bug turbot...

probably the finest pair of lips on the market this morning...

well before the sun gets to shine over the bay...

heavy showers and strong winds gave the harbour a well wintry feel this morning...

as some of the boats took fuel on board...

and readied themselves for sailing later in the day, at this time of year it pays to keep the number of days spent in port to a minimum as previous years have shown just how fickle the weather can be...

unusually for this time of year there are a couple of visiting a scallopers in port, one Irish and one from north of the border...

work continues apace to get the, Pelagic Marksman, the latest addition to the sardine fleet fitted out...

it was a Silver Dawn indeed this morning.

Wednesday 16 November 2016

All quiet of the fishy front.

All done and dusted, just a handful of boxes were on the market this morning...

as Lionel gets on down to some dirty-dancing with his pressure washer...

high water on one of the bigger tides of the year sees the netting fleet all tied up...

and for the first time in days, what's left of the supermoon puts in an appearance...

as work on the handrail of the port's newest crabber nears completion...

as guests of @HeatherKoldewey at the Zoological Society of London from Mozambique, the Philippines and Senegal get a dawning tour of the harbour...

from local fishy people, Andy Wheeler and Clare Leverton...

talking about small-scale fishing from the port...

especially handlining and sustainable methods...

and recycling old nets to create income, as pioneered by @Farinozd...

who helped set up Net-Works...

on the kind of morning...

that makes you...

realise just how lucky you are to live and work in such an amazing place...

as the last supermoon for 60 years fades over the top of the harbour...

as the sun begins to break cover from the horizon...

and flood the harbour with light.

Tuesday 15 November 2016

The cost of fish, Margaretha Maria, lost in 1997 with all hands.

Somewhere between the 11th and 17 of November 1997 the Newlyn based beam trawler, Margaretha Maria was lost. Skipper Rob Holmes, mate John Todd and his son Kerry along with Vince Marshall all went down with the boat.

Today, the Newlyn memorial acts as a memorial to all those fishermen, like Vince, lost at sea and whose bodies are never recovered.

Japanese fishing boat at Rockall

The Japanese longliner Daikichi Maru No1...

240 miles west of Barra Head...

is currently fishing a few miles south west of Rockall - when the UK exerts its 200 mile limit again the waters around Rockall might prove to be an interesting case!

Monday 14 November 2016

Monday morning's market.

Three beam trawlers, one inshore trawler, a handful of inshore netters and line boats and net fish from the Govenek of Ladram make up this morning's Monday market...