High tea, high blood pressure!

 Tea by the sea self-contained underway on the prom........

 and a date to put in the diary to sit at probably the longest table in the UK.......

more parrot food washed up on the beach........

Penzance's Rotary Club ably assisted by staff from Treliske Hospital provide a free annual blood pressure test in the Mission........

 the huge Dutch flagged beamer Ora et Labora makes her way in through the gaps..........

and carefully moves over to.........

the end of the quay.........

closely followed by HL 42, Endeavour on passage from her old home port of Hartlepool to her new home in the once great hake port of Milford Haven........

a compact and well rigged inshore boat........ 

with two net drums aft........

and a big thumbs up from the wheelhouse.........

 the Neptune is looking all he better for a coat of pillar box red paint ready to start on the scallops - and of course home every night unless she's prepared to work more than six miles off under the new rules for scallop fishing in Cornish waters........

 a touch of history under way in the harbour......

is passed by Mr Cripps on his way in for another round of Saturday euchre in the Mission.

Fishing boat for sale - PW473 Viddy

FOR SALE

Viddy PW473

Plymouth Pilot 16

Category A uncapped licence

Aquaworld live bait tank

Electronics: Colour fish-finder and VHF in weatherproof housings.

Just been completely re-wired

New starter motor

The Yanmar GM10 diesel engine is very economical and reliable.

The boat is on a pontoon berth at Newlyn and will be fishing untill sold.

Plymouth Pilot's are renowned sea boats for their size.

Contact Johnny on 01736 363319 or 0754899057

Asking price £6500.

The turn of the Fishermen - Slow Fish 2011 in Genoa from May 27 to 30

Slow food?!!

Readers may be aware of the Slow Food - a movement designed to champion small, artisanal food producers the world over. Slow Food is a global, grassroots organization which now has supporters in 150 countries around the world who are linking the pleasure of good food with a commitment to their community and the environment.

A non-profit member-supported association, Slow Food was founded in 1989 to counter the rise of fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

Small-scale fishers: A threatened species. That’s the common thread of this year’s edition of Slow Fish. Without ignoring the on-going depletion of our oceans and seas, attention will be focused on the people around the world who make their living from fishing, who serve as custodians of the sea and who carry with them an invaluable legacy of memory and traditional knowledge.

Today, they have over 100,000 members joined in 1,300 convivia – our local chapters – worldwide, as well as a network of 2,000 food communities who practice small-scale and sustainable production of quality foods.

What is Slow Fish?

Once again the Slow Fish calendar is packed with events: guided tastings at the Taste Workshops, renowned chefs at the Theater of Taste, opportunities for reflection and debate with leading experts at the Water Workshops and the educational experiences Sea, Fish and Fishers and Markets, Menus and Cooks for the public and schools.

The event offers many participative ways to explore all the Slow Fish activities dedicated to the future of small-scale coastal fishing, looking at the difficult balance between safeguarding the income of fishers and protecting the marine resources on which their livelihood depends.

Slow Fish is an opportunity for retracing the story of artisanal fishing, learning how it works, what cultures it involves, its hardships and skills, as well as discovering how much small-scale fishing has changed today, how it relates to the world and how it has suffered from globalization, and hearing firsthand from the producers of the Presidia of the Sea and those exhibiting in the richly varied Market section.

Slow Food has long promoted information campaigns for consumers. When it comes to foods from the sea, seasonality is encouraged, with an emphasis on the importance of choosing delicious fish species often ignored by the market and raising the profile of artisanal fishers. The choices of consumers and cooks are fundamental to reducing the exploitation of our seas and promoting the consumption of sustainable fish. The Slow Fish campaigns (www.slowfood.it/slowfish) are aimed at precisely this audience.

An important educational role can be played by cooks, who should undertake to adopt a responsible supply policy, serving dishes using little-known but tasty fish. It is therefore essential that they have accurate information about sustainable fishing and aquaculture, and that they establish stable relationships with fishermen and suppliers who can provide quality products. A selection of chefs who are already following these principles will have a high-profile space at Slow Fish, the Alliance Osteria, where they will be serving Italian and international seafood dishes prepared with Presidia products.

On to this year's exhibtion by the Presidia - Slow Fish 2011 in Genoa from May 27 to 30

Slow Fish is back at the Genoa Fair from May 27 to 30, 2011. The biannual international event dedicated to the world of fish and marine ecosystems has now reached its fifth edition. Debates, meetings, workshops and tastings will focus on issues linked to sustainable fishing and responsible seafood consumption. Slow Fish is organized by the Liguria Regional Authority and Slow Food, with the support of the Carige Foundation, the Province of Genoa, the Genoa Chamber of Commerce and the City of Genoa.

The web portal http://www.slowfish.it/, in Italian, English, French and Spanish, explores what’s new for the 2011 edition, with information on bookable events and all the tastings, conferences and meetings in the program. One section is dedicated to the international Slow Fish campaigns, launched by Slow Food after Slow Fish 2009. The campaigns aim to inform consumers, promoting good, clean and fair fish and creating connections between all those working to make fishing and fish consumption sustainable.

The guiding theme of Slow Fish 2011 is Small-scale fishers: A threatened species The 2009 edition was dedicated to fish species, and this year the spotlight turns on the people of the sea. Displays will be organized along a path from the past to the present: artisanal fishing as it used to be, what cultures it involved and what opportunities, hardships and skills; and small-scale fishing as it is now, how it has modernized, how it relates to the world and how it has suffered from globalization.

The Market exhibition area will offer a rich display of fresh and preserved fish, oils, spices, salt, seaweed and other related products. All the exhibitors, Italian and international, have committed to not using artificial preservatives and flavors and will not sell bluefin tuna, swordfish, shark and salmon, species at risk of extinction. The Presidia of the Sea can also be found in the Market, offering concrete examples of how fishing communities can live in harmony with the ecosystem, preserving the marine fauna and adding value to their work by selling high-quality fresh fish and processed products.

The two experiences organized in the Slow Food Education area, designed for the public and schoolchildren, offer both a look at the sea and its people and fishing techniques and rhythms from the fishermen’s perspective, and also suggestions on how to select the best fish, read food labels and prepare delicious seafood at home.

Chefs play a central role in consumer education, and so for the first time the Alliance Osteria will find a home at Slow Fish. Here, around 20 chefs from the Italian and international network will be preparing dishes based on Slow Food Presidia.

The event will also see the return of the Water Workshops, opportunities for analysis and debate around key issues, and cooking demonstrations from chefs in the Theater of Taste. Not to mention the Osterias of the Sea, Street Food and Fishwiches, where visitors can sample gastronomic specialties from around Italy, all paired with excellent wines from the Enoteca.

For the first time, Slow Fish 2011 will be extending beyond the pavilions of the Genoa Fiera to involve prestigious locations around the city, with conferences and meetings open to the public, organized in collaboration with the Festival of Science.

The event organizers have taken a systemic approach to reducing its environmental impact, continuing the work begun by Slow Food at the Salone del Gusto 2006. The aim is to make a significant commitment in every aspect of the event, whether in the choice of recyclable display materials, goods transport, waste management or water and energy use.

Slow Fish Buying Guides

Local fishermen.

 Plenty of silhouttes around the harbour this morning with a dense cloud in the sky.......

enough light for the Sea Lady from Brixham (where the average age of the over 10m fleet is 32 years) alongside the St Georges from Newlyn, (where the average age of the fleet is 40 years) to complete a tranquil scene down the quay........

there's a day's work at least on this footrope......

one of the few boats to land this morning, line caught pollack from the Sea Spray heads off to Trelawney's for processing........

and it looks like mackerel are still around in the Bay, not sure keeping the fridge door open for this long is how the makers intended it to be used.......

and there were two fishermen up to their knees in water this morning.........

 with one a little more successful than the other it seems......

with the rest of the prom ablaze first thing.........

and on the beach, a sure sign that the cuttle season has come to an end with dead cuttle 'bones' appearing at the tide mark - get down and pick them up you parrot owners!

Young's Mack baps hit the shelves!

Fresh Cornish line caught mackerel - best for baps!

MSC certified Young’s Chip Shop Mackerel hits supermarket shelves Few things symbolise recent interest in sustainable fishing as much as the mackerel bap. Yet, while the fish and chip shop industry has begun to embrace mackerel, fish-lovers keen to serve up mackerel baps themselves have been unable to find battered mackerel fillets. Step up fish specialists Young’s who have launched a new Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified Chip Shop Mackerel so that – for the first time – you can try the mackerel bap at home. Sadly, the fish are sourced from bonny Scotland and not South West waters.

Fish of the week - what to do with pollack fillets.

Gently fry off 100g of chorizo in a heavy pan till the red oil oozes, add garlic, half a grated onion and new pots sliced to 5mm and cook through for 10 minutes before adding broad (or edamme) beans and covering the pan with greaseproof paper and a lid, simmer on a very low heat for 30-40 minutes till tender.........

prepare a paste with half teaspoons of freshly ground cummin, corainder, turmeric, paprika, squeeze of lemon and two tablespoons of honey.........

and coat the fish before frying skin side down till crisp and then ten minutes in a hot oven to finish off.

Anchovy growth - key to survival.

This may be a no-brainer but it seems that the more anchovies grow the better their chances of survival. Read the report here.