Cuttlefish in Tomato in Wine sauce - nice one Sophie!

 Cuttlefish are one of those fishes from the sea almost guaranteed to provoke a 'yeuk!' reaction from many if not presented in a prepared sanitised form, which is a real shame because just like squid, they are delicious when cooked well........

 after pulling out the head and insides - using two fingers pushed down the 'backbone' - the next job is to remove the membrane from the outside of the body - takes a little practice to 'pick up' the membrane from an edge.......

 be sure to look for the ink sac - easily identifiable by the shiny silvery lining as seen above....... 

 pop the sac into a small pot of water - if the sac is really big reduce the amount used by half (can be frozen and used next time to prepare pasta nera (black pasta) - the strength of flavour from one of these sacs will easily do a whole dish for 4........

 the ink itself is gritty to touch when being squeezed from the sac (if you must, wear your marigolds - just don't snap the wrist)........

 once mixed you now have a pot of sepia ink - and yes, if you are inclined, you can use it as ink to write or draw being as that is exactly what it has been used for for hundreds of years.......

 take of the tentacles from just above the eyes - squeeze out the beak........

 after the initial cooking stage which involves sweating down onion and garlic (try shallots and/or red onion as well) a tin of toms and a good glass of red wine and a squeeze of tom puree or dried tom puree or chopped dried toms the dish is then covered and stewed gently for a good hour........

 this recipe comes from Sophie Grigson, who at one time was a regular visitor to Newlyn.......

 serve on a bed of pasta (nera if wanted) along with peas or broad beans and some hot ciabatand most ta rolls...... 

and if you can get hold of a copy, highly recommended is her book too, written with better half William Black - one of the best fish cook books going - and a bargain from the charity shop at £1.49!

Top Newlyn fish are special!

Post pier party painting pics

Just one of many shots taken during the morning session of this year's Painting Party on the Old Quay in Newlyn - in this photo, local artist Bernard Evans is just putting the finishing lines in his study of the luggers in the harbour...

here's the same work a few hours later nearing completion.

IIlegal fishing - is Sierra Leone winning the war?

 Last reported positions of the FV Five Star and

the FV Marcia 777 when she was docked in Dakar, Sierra Leone.




Three illegal fishing vessels - the Five Star, Marcia 777 and the Kum Myeong 2 - have fled Sierra Leone, escaping fines for doing illegal fishing and transhipment in the country's Inshore Exclusion Zone, IEZ.


The disclosure was made yesterday by the Project Coordinator of Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Andy Hickman at a press briefing held at the conference room of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
He intimated newsmen that another vessel, the Ocean 3, also left the country's waters without paying the entirety of the fine levied against them, noting that fines of almost $300,000 have already been collected.


He said the past six months have witnessed an extraordinary crackdown by the government on illegal fishing in the IEZ and has resulted in the arrest or expulsion of all known illegal trawlers from the country.


"We are witnessing a potentially transformative moment in fisheries enforcement in West Africa. In Sierra Leone, we operate a community surveillance patrol vessel to document evidence of illegal trawler activity within the IEZ reserved for artisanal fishers," he said.


In his response, Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Dr. Soccoh Kabia thanked EJF for working tirelessly to curtail illegal fishing in the country.
He noted that illegal fishing is one of the challenges facing the sector, and that the country is losing some $30 million annually as a result of this.


"We are putting mechanisms in place to curtail it," the minister assured. "One of the things we have done is the creation of the Joint Maritime Committee (JMC), which comprises all stakeholders in the sector. We will introduce a monitoring system known as VMS for all fishing vessels."


On the illegal vessels that have fled the country, Dr. Kabia revealed that they are working with regional and international partners to hold the Five Star, Marcia 777 and the Kum Myeong 2 to account. The minister also disclosed that a total of Le13.7 billion was generated by his ministry in 2011, and that $158,000 has so far been collected this year on fines.


Story courtesy of AllAfrica

This successful action by the Leonese government may just help bring further action in combating the huge legalised fishing operation currently being exploited by some of the biggest trawlers in the world - all managed by the PFA - here's an update from Greenpeace:

"The Arctic Sunrise is still in the waters of Mauritania, and yes, the old Atlantic Dawn is one of the Pelagic Freezer Trawler Association's fleet, which is "legally" decimating fish stocks in West Africa, 

When Celestino saw the amount of mackerel landed by one man from a 16' punt, he peered down at the boat wanting to know where the rest of the crew were hiding - too many fish for one man to catch he said!

and destroying the livelihoods and communities of fishermen like Issa, Karim and Celestino who came to Newlyn last year."

More recently, Looe fisherman Andy Giles joined a small fleet of dugout boats and witnessed first hand the apparently devastating effect that super-sized trawlers have on inshore stocks - although, of course, it could just be climate change that is forcing these shoals of fish that have been around for centuries to swim elsewhere.

Study this recent article in the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/18/uk-west-africa-fishing-quotas  Karim Sall is quoted. 

As posted yesterday, Greenpeace have recently published a report showing how EU taxpayer money is used to support the European factory trawlers operating in West Africa.  It's a perverse situation - in these times of austerity, our taxes are enabling destructive vessels to strip the waters of West Africa, yet, back at home, our small scale fishermen are struggling to survive under the mismanagement of the the broken CFP. Fisheries Minister, Bradshaw is currently involved in moves to reduce the fishing effort through legalising EU fishing vessels to fish elsewhere in the world. 

Rowse Fishing - boat blessing and launch party

The most sought after 'do' to get an invite to in town - the first time an owner has had two brand new big boats built in Newlyn for many a decade - some good news to celebrate in the industry!