Coastguard consulation chaos contiunues - cause to cheer or cry?

It seems that the huge pressure undoubtedly placed on the Governement department responsible for the Coastguard Cuts Consulation document has paid off - stand by for round to of the consultaion process to begin all obver again later in the summer! 

Here's all the gen from the Labour Party's shadow transport minister, Maria Eagle:

In a letter to Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Maria Eagle MP, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency has revealed that the consultation on proposals to close more than half of the UK’s coastguard stations is to be reopened again in the summer. The consultation only closed last week, on Thursday 5th May. Yet the Secretary of State for Transport is still insisting that the consultation is now over.

The Department for Transport has come under further pressure today with the release of a letter from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Mike Penning MP to the Chair of the Transport Select Committee in which he gags coastguards from speaking to the Select Committee. Coastguards have subsequently expressed fears that they could face consequences for having made public submissions to the review after the letter raises the suggestion that they may be in breach of their ‘terms and conditions of employment’.

Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary Maria Eagle MP has now written to the Secretary of State for Transport, Philip Hammond, urging him to abandon plans which would see only three coastguard stations offering round the clock cover.

Maria Eagle MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, said: “The Tory-led Government has been forced to agree to another period of consultation because they know that Britain’s coastal communities have serious concerns about the scale of the proposed cuts to the coastguard service. To close more than half of the UK’s coastguard stations in one go, leaving just three offering 24-hour cover, is a cut too far. Instead of conceding yet another consultation, Ministers should now abandon this ill-thought out madness that will leave our coastline a more dangerous place.

“The Transport Secretary should also remove the gag he has placed on coastguards speaking out against the plans and stop his Ministers making threats about the terms and conditions of employment of those who risk their lives to protect our coastline.”

Full page here.

Night moves at the Exchange.

Newlyn Art Gallery and the Exchange will oversee the creation of a unique printed book this weekend as their contribution to the nationwide project, 'Museuem's at Night'. The challenge - from 8 pm on Friday evening to 8 am on Saturday morning, artists, writers and printers of an indeterminate number will contrive, create and produce a single book.

“Because of the nature of the exhibition, a lot of local creative talents are coming into the gallery. They’re naturally drawn to creating A Book of the Night,” explains Gibbard, who is a dab hand at using exhibitions to galvanise education and events.

No doubt the Exchange will be keen to see anyone passing pop in and sample the creative ambience of such an event at first hand as the book takes shape - courtesy of local bookbinders, PZ Conservation.

View Larger Map

The Exchange Gallery is just off the main drag in penzance and adjacent to the historic Chapel Street.

12 5 11

Sunshine later.......

the AA has been on the megs again.....

still time to weigh up an inshore trip......

with these quality monk tails sure to entice the qulauity end of the market......

along with these monk cheeks.....

visiting working boat Sadia with a new coat of paint......

which is what the old sidewinder come netter Excellent could do with......

so that she loks as good as she did the day she sailed to the Brest Festival in 1992.....

see those crabs coming ashore by the bongo-full....

astern then ahead for Jake........

and then out through the gaps.......

aboard the CKS, hoping the clouds will not unload their cargo on the harbour again today before the paint job is finished........

it's a close call this year between the two lifeboat crews and set to be a record number of call-outs at this rate...........

worth catching this wave.......

St Piran's port fan.......

an early delivery for the Newlyn Charity shop, site of Lloyds Bank in day's of yore.

You're stealing our fish! - well, not you guys personally.

From Cape Verde to Cornwall – Invitation to meet with small-scale West African fishermen.

Small-boat fishermen of Cape Verde, Mauritania and Senegal may be financially wiped out if bulk fishing off their shores by European factory boats continues.

A small delegation of three artisanal fishermen from Cape Verde, Senegal and Mauritania will visit the UK next week as part of the European-wide African Voices Tour, organised by Greenpeace, creating a platform for artisanal fishermen to share their own experiences of the effects of large industrial European vessels operating in their waters.

Under the external dimension of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), such fishing is currently allowed, the African fishermen will explain. The tour will enable the fishermen to tell their story to policy makers, the fishing industry, NGOs and the general public within the crucial context of the reform of the CFP currently under way.


West African inshore fishermen are very interested in meeting with fellow small-scale fishermen in the UK and so will be spending an informal and relaxed day in Newlyn on 20 May where experiences can be shared and ideas for reform discussed.


You are invited to attend a meeting with the fishermen at the Fishermen’s Mission, Newlyn from 12 – 2 pm on 20th May (note: a change in location from Seafood Cornwall offices advertised previously), for a discussion on the issues facing small-scale fishermen in West Africa and the UK.


Despite the geographical distance, there is considerable alignment between small scale fishermen in the UK and in West Africa. Both sectors face similar challenges and problems under the CFP, particularly in respect of competition from large scale industrial fleets. The fishermen will discuss exactly how these vessels threaten their livelihoods and communities.


This is an opportunity for a show of solidarity between fishermen from very different worlds, united to achieve a more sustainable future for small-scale fishing and fishing communities.


We hope to see you there.

SAR - from below.

SAR from RNAS Culdrose visited Penwith College yesterday.....

here is a reminder of the procedure to follow should you end up under the downdraft of a Sea King for real:

Helicopter Rescue Procedures

All operations will be directed by the crew of the Helicopter – follow all instructions they issue.

Do not be distracted by the noise of the helicopter overhead, it may be necessary to have a crewmember positioned inside the boat to maintain radio communications with the helicopter due to the excessive noise on the outside decks. Keep your oilskins on or be prepared to get soaked.

Prepare well in advance of the arrival of the helicopter; ensure crew are well briefed on correct procedures.

 

Clear all obstructions on deck prior to its arrival ensure there are no items of loose or moveable gear on deck.

The pilot will give specific instructions regarding course and direction he may wish you to steer, generally boats will maintain a course to give the wind at 30 degree to the Port Bow, and the preferred area to conduct winching operations is normally the port quarter. This affords the Pilot visual contact with both the boat and his winch man.

Due to the risk of static build up from a hovering helicopter, follow the pilots instructions exactly with regard to earthing of a static discharge wire (it hurts!) prior to placing the winch man on board, generally the wire is dropped into the sea to discharge static, prior to the commencing the operation.

Under no circumstances should the winch line made fast at any time to the boat.

On arrival of the winch man on board, he will assume command of all subsequent operations - follow his instructions at all times.

Do not fire parachute flares when a helicopter is operating in the vicinity.

Discards ban - some good news for Cornish boats.

A total ban on the dumping of dead fish back into the sea, which could have threatened the Westcountry fleet, appears to have been averted, industry leaders have said.

In March, EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki laid out alternative policies to end so-called fish "discards" in the most radical change to fisheries policy in years.

The announcement followed a high profile campaign, fronted by chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, which gathered 650,000 signatures for a petition to end the practice. Although industry leaders in Devon and Cornwall described the principle of discards as "despicable", they feared a total ban would damage the industry. "It would probably have resulted in either a very significant reduction in the number of days at sea that would be allowed or a very significant reduction in the number of boats," Jim Portus, chief executive of the South West Fish Producer's Organisation, said. "Either scenario would have been economically damaging for the region."

Mr Portus said an outright ban on discards ignored the fact that many species – including sole, plaice, skates and rays, scallops, crabs, lobsters and most flatfish – survived the catching process. He argued that current quotas overestimated the number of fish killed in the fishing process thereby reducing quotas and the number of fish that could be landed.  In a briefing paper prepared for the recent visit of Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon to Brixham, Mr Portus said of a ban on discards "in many cases – and perversely – there would be an increase in mortality" reducing stocks further. Mr Portus said some tagging surveys showed 100 per cent survival rates. The producer's organisation has also offered its support to scientists to conduct survival rate studies during commercial voyages.

The arguments now appear to have been accepted in Brussels, although a total ban is likely to be imposed on some pelagic species, like mackerel, where survival rates are low. Mr Portus said: "The fisheries commissioner has accepted that not all species should be the subject of a discard ban, I'm happy to say.  "We do know it is the intention of the commission to ban discards of pelagic fish on January 1, 2015 although it is not at the forefront of the industry in the Westcountry." He added: "We have to assist the commission to come up with solutions that achieve the objective of minimising waste but also achieves the objective of keeping the maximum number of jobs in our fishing community. In disagreeing with the commissioner and people like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, I'm not saying that we don't have to end this waste but that we have to get it into a sense of proportion."

Artice courtesy of ThisIsCornwall

Tuesady on the market.

Keeping an eye on proceedings atop the grader.......

Marine Biology students from Falmouth Marine School get the benefit of ex-fishermen Andy's considerable knowledge as he holds up a good sized plaice (pleuronectes platessa - platea meaning flat as in plateau) for identification.......

with the Gary M being the boat that landed the afore-mentioned fish.......

inshore trawlers fill the end berths on the pontoons......

aerial view of a crabber's foredeck.......

all in a morning's work, six boxes to go.