Another busy Monday morning market for Newlyn.

Get a head start...

another new quay fender is about to get dropped into the harbour...

inshore lobsterman Andrew is bound in...

Monday morning and the Silver Dawn arrives to land her trip of hake for tomorrow's market......

filling much of Monday's auction spreadsheet is hake and other whitefish from the Stelissa...

with just over 300 boxes including over 200 of hake...

the Ocean Pride...

and Britannia V also landed hake trips...

prime red mullet...

a few inshore boats managed to get in a few hauls to provide the market with more quality like these plaice

along with some bonus fish from the big netter...

two beam trawlers completed their week-long trips to make a Monday morning market...

the odd smoothhound found its way ashore...

along with a some big crab paws...

good hauls of ray came aboard some inshore boats like the Morning Star...

there's two sides to every turbot...

landing at the market...

as Ryan swings the first of the Silver Dawn's fish ashore...

Annie May comes in with the goods...

some bloom, there's still no let up in octopus landings...

a brace of fine pollack...

and one big conger...

this guy is hoping someone will toss him a scrap...

according to the Farmer's forecast for the week, things will become more Spring-like in a few day's time.

 

More Than a Catch: Why ‘A Taste of the Salt’ is the Film Every Seafood Lover Needs to See

 For centuries, the rhythmic pulse of Plymouth has been defined by the sea. It’s in the air, the history, and—most importantly—the hard-earned livelihoods of the men and women who call the Fish Quay home. But as our modern food systems become increasingly "murky" and disconnected, the stories of those who actually harvest our waters are often lost to the tide.

Enter A Taste of the Salt, a powerful new documentary film from the Plymouth Fishing & Seafood Association (PFSA).

Created in collaboration with Meor Studio and RNLI Helmsman/Director J.P. Williams, this isn’t just a film about fishing; it’s a cinematic "call to reconnection." Following the lives of three local fishermen, the documentary goes beyond the horizon to capture the grit, the passion, and the precariousness of life on the water.

The film arrives at a critical turning point for the city. Following the closure of the Plymouth fish auction in 2024, our local fleet has faced unprecedented challenges in getting their catch onto local plates. A Taste of the Salt pulls back the curtain on this hidden industry, asking us to look past the supermarket shelf and see the faces—like Tony Heinemann, who famously says the salt is "in his blood"—behind the seafood we love.

Whether you're a local resident, a sustainable food advocate, or someone who simply appreciates the raw beauty of life at sea, this film is a moving tribute to the resilience of a community fighting to stay afloat.

In today’s post, we’re diving into the heart of the "A Taste of the Salt" campaign and exploring how we can all help keep Plymouth’s historic fleet fishing for generations to come...

Fish auction news for the week.

 

Overview of the week in Newlyn.

Significant Landings

• Mediterranean Octopus (Pot Caught): This was the most consistent high-volume species from March 9th to 12th, peaking on the 11th with 8,581 kg, representing over 80% of that day's total market volume.

• MSC Hake: A massive influx occurred on March 13th, with 12,704 kg landed. This single-species landing was the largest volume event of the five-day period and significantly lowered the overall market average price for that day.

• Dover Sole & Cuttlefish: These species maintained steady secondary volumes throughout the week, typically ranging between 500kg and 2,300kg.

Price Extremes 

• High Prices: Turbot (specifically Size 2, 4-6kg) consistently fetched the highest prices, reaching a peak of £45.17/kg on March 11th. Lobsters also saw high demand, ranging between £28.00 and £37.00/kg.

• Low Prices: Industrial and smaller fish like Red Bream (Size 5), Haddock (Size 5), and Pout Whiting frequently sold at the bottom of the market, with prices as low as £0.11 to £0.18/kg.

Trends

• Supply vs. Demand: There was a clear inverse relationship between volume and price. On March 12th, when landings were at their lowest (5.8 tons), the average price reached a weekly high of £8.16/kg. Conversely, when the Hake "glut" arrived on the 13th, the market average dropped to £4.65/kg.

• Species Volatility: Turbot showed significant price volatility, dropping from nearly £39/kg on the 11th to roughly £17.75/kg by the 13th. In contrast, Dover Sole remained highly resilient, with prices staying within the £15.80 – £18.30/kg range regardless of volume fluctuations.

---

The five-day period was characterised by a mid-week slump in volume followed by a significant surge on Friday. The first half of the week was dominated by Mediterranean Octopus, which provided stable weight but moderate value. The supply tightening on Thursday (March 12th) drove prices for premium whitefish to their weekly peak. The week ended with a "high-volume, lower-value" Friday, driven predominantly by a large landing of MSC Hake, which provided nearly 70% of that day's total weight but pushed the daily average price to its lowest point (£4.65/kg). Premium species like Turbot, Lobster, and Dover Sole remained the primary value drivers for the auction throughout the period.

'Tiz a chilly end to the week in Newlyn.

Johnny tows another completed fender toits new home...

and is kept busy removing the old from the harbour - that's an example of just how much damage marine worms can do in seven years...

between these two, an awful lot of fish have been caught...

thanks largely to funding from Historic England, the Old Quay has been given a new lease of life - it won't be too long before there is electricity available

who would have thought crabbers would be fishing for the very fish that predates on shellfish?!..

meanwhile, Friday's market id full of net fsh, mostly hake from the Ygraine...

Ajax...

Silver Dawn...

and Ocean Pride...

a nice little trio of ling...

the usual suspects landed last night...

many fish, like these tub gurnards, have surprisingly big mouths for their size...

the weather continues to keep the imshore boats fromputtingout to sea, almost nothing from them n the fridge this morning...

apart from a few octos whose favourite diet is shellfish...

so the big question is, will there be plenty of these left to catch this summer?

beaver at work...

dull, grey and not very warm, Spring hasn't quite sprung yet!

 

Monday morning and the mist has gone!

After Newlyn was covered in mist for 36 hours over the weekend, the harbour woke up to blue(ish) skies...

and a market full of fish...

much of it from the port's biggest boat...

the beam trawler Enterprise...

monk tails galore...

some fishermen use seaweed, others use old hessian sacks...

to keep the air full of moisture which allows shellfish like these lobsters to live out of water for many hours...

stack 'em high...

top quality fish like these John Dory...

brill...

squid...

monk tails...

and pollock all came courtesy of the inshore fleet that managed to catch the first break in the weather for many days...

hopefully, the start of better weather to come - mists and fogs are common at this time of year as winter moves into spring and the temperature difference between the sea and land masses begins to shift.