....that goes something like, " keep both eyes on the past and you are blind to the future, but keep both eyes on the future and you are blind to the past" - this evening's second meeting at the Newlyn Centre between harbour commissioners and harbour users bore some resemblance to that
fateful meeting of March 17th 1973 which was held to determine whether or not the harbour should invest in a new market and more, when, with a unanimous show of hands all present indicated that they were in favour of the proposals, the Commissioners then chose to ignore the vote in favour and turned down that opportunity - of course, times have changed and at this public meeting the new commissioners seem keen to do the right thing in supporting the fishermen and launch Newlyn into the 21st Century and make amends for the mistakes of the past. A show of hands at the end of this meeting in response to, "would you invest in a new market if it was your money" received almost unanimous support from those present.
By way of the kind of continuity you might expect in such a community, several fishermen, along with the sons of several others this evening, were also present in 1973, and they, perhaps more than anyone else, will be keenest to see the future of them and their sons assured by the Commission taking the decision to go ahead and build them a new market.
We can be reminded why several owners still land their fish to Plymouth market - something that will surely redress itself once the new market is up and running providing the kind of service and prices enjoyed elsewhere.
In March 2008, an open letter, signed by the skippers who at the time landed to Plymouth Market, expressed their concerns over the future of Newlyn's present fish market:
"Our family run a fishing vessel out of Newlyn but we, and a growing number of fishermen are choosing to have our catches auctioned on Plymouth market. As local fishermen, given the choice we would much rather be landing our fish on a competitive local market.
However, we are in business and are only doing this as we are profiting more from transporting our fish there. After meeting with the buyers from Newlyn last year, expressing our concerns we took this decision. It was not taken lightly or hastily.
Last week I visited Plymouth market, and the team at Plymouth Trawler Agents (PTA) for the first time since our fish has been auctioned there. We have been transporting our fish there from Newlyn every week since last May. After being shown around a pristine market, which was fully refrigerated, I was shown how our catch, after being graded (by grading machines that work), was automatically put through the computer system linking it with an internet auction. I was then taken to the auction room where up to 30 buyers bid electronically in person and currently 60 buyers bid online. All parties have full confidence in the quality and grading of the fish they are bidding on. PTA also provides the ability via its website to view the quantity of catch that each of the vessels they deal with has on board and give the dates they are due to land: quite simple but impressive to see working.
I question why this has not been done in Newlyn. I also question the ability of the commissioners to implement the New Harbour plans. I totally agree that a new market is a must for the fishermen in Newlyn but it should have been built yesterday! There are rumours that this cannot be afforded, I disagree.
The fishermen in Newlyn at present pay 2% to land their catch; this is one of the highest rates in the UK. But why have the harbour commissioners not looked at other income streams? For example, in many other ports they have fuel bunkering run by the harbour for profit. In Brixham it is a known fact that this pays for all the staff wages alone. Further more the HARBOUR could also run the auction, bringing it another 5% income alone! I am sure that this would make the venture profitable.
All of these ideas have been brought forward by the fishermen at the consultation stage but have been ignored by the Board of Commissioners. In my opinion, I feel that there is a conflict of interest within the Board of Commissioners that is preventing progress and common sense to prevail.
I can only hope that when the new harbour constitution is revealed that the community and harbour users get the right people to see this project through, and that the present commissioners are not involved in choosing the new harbour appointees, as this process will have been of no benefit at all. It is the role of the harbour commissioners to provide the facilities and conditions for the harbour to prosper, and I feel that this whole project has been totally mismanaged. It is of such importance to the community of Penwith, I fear that if swift action is not taken Newlyn will never gain back its status as the premier landing port in England.
Our few vessels make up almost a quarter of the total of landings into Newlyn. We are not alone in our views and I know many other fishermen feel the same way".
David Stevens, Crystal Sea; with the support of ANTHONY HOSKING, Silver Dawn; SHAUN EDWARDS, Nova Spero; STEVEN NOWELL, Nellie; MICHEAL NOWELL, Elizabeth N; MARK ROUSE, Don Bosco and Intuition and Emma Louise; GARY LEACH, Wayfarer; DAVID and COLIN WARWICK, Valhalla; ROGER NOWELL, Imogen; TOM McCLURE, Harvest Reaper.
That is a message loud and clear from a very concerned group of fishermen, all of whom have invested in the future of fishing for them, their families and others.
