Brittany bound.

The kind of changeable weather more commonly associated with October gives rise to continually changing skies over the Bay this morning......

laying between the Green and the Low Lee buoy, the Danish tall ship Georg Stag at anchor  and the beamer Billy Rowney laid to..........

not every town street has such a view........

old stone work lays just above the line of the old causeway, purpose unknown, one for the Newlyn Archive to solve maybe........

on the market it's not too late for some razor clams.........

and there is still fierce bidding for Dovers from the beamer fleet.......

good sized mackerel, not so plentiful, owing to the very blustery conditions over the weekend which kept most of the inshore fleet against the quay, on moorings or up on the beach........

big turbot for the Gary M again.........

a good day's work aboard the netter Silver Dawn as she changes over gear, at the end of this tide she is bound for Lechiagat (the boatyard side of Guilvenec) for her annul refit, no doubt the crew will take the time to enjoy a few days of warm Breton hospitality and sample the delights of Kouign-Amman (butter cake), gwin ru or possibly even a shot of hard-to-find Lambig (traditionally farm produced cider spirit).........,

hopefully, before the rain arrives.......

the boys aboard the Billy Rowney will......... 

manage to pull the gear ashore........

it's a blue sort of day........

what to look for in fish freshness - after a few days the eyes may have shrunk (not necessarily affecting the flavour in any way) - in fact, many fishermen will argue that big fish, like cod in particular, lack flavour if eaten straight out of the sea......

an example of a cod not long wrestled from its habitat..........

plenty of work for the harbour staff making ready the new timber fenders for the North Quay........

baldness brings on an alliteration attack..........

if the weather looks like it will cloud the skies at the weekend, put this date in the diary for the kids.

Danny and Doug - end-to-enders on the way home!

Dan and Doug head for home on the train from Penzance.

The first of two teams raising money for the Alzheimer's Society on Just Giving, uni students Danny and Doug catch their breath after having to race from Land's End to Penzance station to catch the 1247 train to Portsmouth. The intrepid pair, well inside their 14 day target having completed 975 miles in twelve days, are looking forward to a big meal and solid nights sleep after camping out along the way - apart from one night in Devon when a hotel let them have their best room for free!

Monk fish in black bean sauce followed by a fruit blizzard

 Monk fish can take strong flavours well, this recipe called for scallops so the monk was cut to resemble scallop meats.......

 the black bean sauce was made from salted black beans (they keep forever), garlic and grated ginger.......

 very hot spicy prawn starter........

 meanwhile, back at the stove, a quick stir fry of the monk.......

 before cooking off the black bean sauce..........

 to which the monk is added for a few minutes to coat........

always good to follow a fish dish with something citrus, homemade blackcurrant ice cream with an icy fruit blizzard, frozen mango, pineapple, watermelon.

Tall ships and tugs.

Seems the litter bin goblins have been active again......

the boys aboard the Chloe T will be hoping for better drying weather over the next few days......

fresh turbot tangle gear going on the CKS.........

while it's everything off the Silver Dawn......

the tall ship Georg Stage is at anchor over the weekend.....

always carry a spare set......

the Cathryn is in need of some below the waterline maintenance......

the only tuna in the port this morning.......

sparks fly on the new crabber......

the old drifter Feasible is at rest.......

as is visiting tug Flat Holm, Through the Gaps' grandfather was on a merchant ship called the Sheaf Holm for many years before WWII.

Make your thoughts known to the Commissioners.

Since the Harbour Commissioner's official line of communication via its web site appears not to be carrying any news or updates there are now two alternative means of getting in touch.........

this is the official route, a bright blue box outside the harbour office......

or, alternatively, a large sheet of paper has been pasted on the outside of the fish market inviting comments from the community which the harbour serves!

Falmouth Coastguard to stay in business - 24/7.

SAR services from RNAS Culdrose will continue to be co-ordinated by Falmouth Coastguard.

Round-the-clock coastguard cover in Cornwall has been saved after a Government U-turn.Ministers are expected to announce today that Falmouth coastguard station will operate 24-hours a day under revised plans. It was threatened with only being open during daylight.

However, the South Devon coastguard station that covers a vast sweep of the Westcountry coast is to be closed under the controversial plans.

Shutting the Brixham watch, which covers the coastline from Dodman Point in Cornwall to Topsham in Devon, means campaigners have failed to force a U-turn over the border.

Today's announcement follows a mass public outcry in the wake of modernisation proposals drawn up by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to shut half the UK's stations.

The Westcountry would have been left without 24-hour coastguard cover, leading to fears over the safety of a range of groups, from tourists to fishermen.

But Transport Secretary Philip Hammond will today announce "adapted" plans. He will say seven out of 18 stations in the UK are to close, effectively saving three stations that were originally earmarked for closure.

Brixham is one of those to go, the Western Morning News understands. The 11 stations to remain open, including Falmouth, will all operate 24 hours a day.

Coastguard agency staff and MPs feared lives were being put at risk because of a loss of local knowledge as a result of coastguards being sacked.

The new plans are set to go out for a further six-week consultation, but it will only be on the revisions – dashing remaining hopes Brixham gets an 11th hour reprieve.

Shipping Minister Mike Penning had previously insisted that the original proposals would be changed, but also stressed the status quo was not an option.

Commentators have felt that Brixham was always at greater risk than Falmouth because of Falmouth's expertise in international rescues.

But Brixham supporters claimed this was a misnomer as the Devon station takes over the multi-national operations when Falmouth is down.

But fears for Brixham's future were heightened when Mr Penning described the distance between the two as "ridiculously close" when justifying the need for closures. Campaigners have pointed out there are more road miles between other centres.

Mr Penning also revealed that Falmouth had proposed shutting its "twin" station Brixham in its response to the coastguard consultation.

Under the original proposals, which were commissioned five years ago under the Labour government, three stations would have operated around-the-clock. That would have meant the closest 24-hour station covering the Westcountry would have been in the Portsmouth and Southampton area.

Sheryll Murray, Conservative MP for South East Cornwall, whose constituency is covered by the Brixham station, is among a number of MPs who have called on the Government to go back to the drawing board. Mrs Murray's husband Neil, a fisherman, died at sea in March in waters covered by the Devon station.

She has said the lives of more fishermen would be at risk with Brixham gone.


Article courtesy of the Cornishman.

Maria Damanki posts a discussion on her presentation at Brussels yesterday.

Maria Damanki has posted this video response to yesterdays presentation - it has taken many years for someone to publicly admit that the CFP is at stood did little to secure a viable future for the fish stocks of Europe.

Let the debate commence.