Pair team first

Boxes of frozen bait wait to be picked up by a crabber....
with the water still cold, fishing is slack with the pot boats, so it is a question of going through the gear and picking away for the time being......
first time in port and heralding the start of a new venture, the Ocean Star from Fraserburgh has joined forces with local boat Defiant to form the first pair team to operate from Newlyn for some time - previous notable attempts back in the 80s saw the Keriolet and Ben My Chree try their luck for a winter season......
the Ocean Star with the pair partner Defiant astern......
first job in the morning seems to be a replacemnt sweep for the pair team to sort out.....
on the market, the CEFAS team are busy recording small haddock......
while outside a heavy mist is beginning to lift as the sun burns through......
and Ryan conducts the early sale for W&S, there is news this morning of some interesting developments on the way forward for the proposed new fish market it seems.....
boxes of line caught pollack are making good money ahead of the Easter tourist influx.

First of the season's yachts arrive

The Billy Rowney clears her exhaust as she heads out to sea and is passed astern by local angling and charter boat Mermaid II......
a man at one with the world aboard his punt heads back to the pontoons....
as another heads out for an evenings work.....
one of several yachts arriving to herald the start of the season....
in addition to the more familiar bow of the Crystal Sea II heading in through the gaps....
where there is time to throw a rope ashore......
take on board fresh store, land and head back out ot sea later in the evening....
others make their way to the fish market to drop off the their catch into the cold store...
the rig catches the early evening sun on the deck....
another yacht in berth on the end of the pontoons.....
as the Anna Too arrives from Plymouth.

Rare Mediterranean visitor arrives in Newlyn

MTS Indus, the newest Falmouth tug is in harbour - and with the wonders of modern technology you can track recent activity of the Indus online.....
this must be what they mean by an 'all-round-white'......
the Imogen makes her way round to the iceworks before heading out to sea.....
on the second of April, the aptly named May blossom brightens up Keel Alley.....
appearing out of the depths, the jack-up rig stands alongside the slip.....
after landing another good shot of line caught pollack the Sea Spray's tubs wait to be cleaned before going back aboard the boat.....
not too many mackerel around , just enough to tempt some of the handline boats out, these were caught by the ringnetter, Pride of Cornwall......
a real rarity in these waters, a stunning Silver Dory, caught by young Roger Nowell on his inshore trawler, Imogen and only the eleventh recorded in the UK......
only a single sea gull heads out through the gaps as the sun comes up this morning.

The gill netters are bound away for the next neap tide

Padstow registered Berlewen passes the Mount on her way to the fishing grounds west of Cornwall.......
St Ives registered multi-purpose inshore catamaran, Dignity waits for the tide to drop so that the hull can be cleaned below the waterline....
en passage, the new build dive charter boat for ScubadiveWest Brazen Hussy, registered in Connemara lays to a pontoon berth....
it's the night for the ladies team training aboard the gig Portheras as she cruises past the Lisa Jacqueline up on the slip.....
one refurbished engine sits astern of the Sea Jay, something to keep Ryan busy......
heading out through the gaps of Penzance's wet dock, gill netter Ocean Harvest heads over to Newlyn for ice.

An Icelandic view

This article appeared in the online version of the Icelandic quarterly magazine, Icelandic Review - an insight into how a situation may be perceived from another perspective.

Made criminals - big time!

The size of the fine and the jail sentence for two fishermen, both of whom featured heavily in the third series of the Trawlermen on BBC TV, makes for salutory reading and to make a mental note not to appear in Liverpool Crown Court if that's the kind of sentence they feel justfied in handing out to hard working fishermen - until the quota system is abandoned, fishermen will see those penalties imposed on them in the name of conservation as inequitable - throwing back dead fish haul after haul does not conserve stocks.

There is an online petition to sign if you are in support of the fishermen here.

Bags of gear

Not sure who was the first person to use builder's bags to transport gill nets but the idea caught on quick and they make for much easier (and cheaper) handling than the heavy duty plastic tubs that were once popular....
as the big spring tide makes way for the the neap, the netters prepare for their next foray.....
Badcock's window display is showing a touch of Spring with a splash of colourful daffs in vases suspended from the ceiling to complement the 'Bring me Sunshine' exhibition which features the work of Simeon Stafford.